Hester
Hester is both a female given name and a surname. As a given name Hester is a variant of Esther. As a surname it is of Italian origin and uncertain meaning. In Ireland, particularly County Mayo, the surname Hester is found as an Anglicized form of the Gaelic Ó hOistir descendant of Oistir, who was likely an early 13th century immigrant from Tuscany.
Given name
- Hester Adrian, Baroness Adrian, British mental health worker
- Hester Bateman, English silversmith
- Hester A. Benedict, American poet and writer
- Hester Biddle, English Quaker writer
- Hester "Hetty" Burr, American abolitionist
- Hester Chapone, British author
- Hester A. Davis, American archaeologist
- Hester Dowden, Irish spiritualist medium
- Hester Dunn, Northern Irish former loyalist activist and writer
- Hester Maria Elphinstone, Viscountess Keith, British literary correspondent and intellectual
- Hester Goodsell, British rower
- Hester Grenville, 1st Countess Temple, English noblewoman
- Hester Jane Haskins, American madam, procuress, and underworld figure
- Hester Kaplan, American author
- Hester Maclean, New Zealand nurse, editor and writer
- Maria Hester Park, British composer, pianist, and singer
- Hester Parnall, English brewer and businesswoman
- Hester Pitt, Countess of Chatham, wife of William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, who was Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1766 to 1768
- Lady Hester Pulter, British writer
- Catherine Hester Ralfe, New Zealand dressmaker, teacher, storekeeper, housekeeper and diarist
- Hester Dorsey Richardson, American author
- Hester Santlow, British dancer and actress
- Lady Hester Stanhope, British socialite, adventurer and traveler
- Hester Thrale, British diarist, author, and patron of the arts
- Hester van Eeghen, Dutch designer
- Hester Veltman-Kamp, Dutch politician
Surname
- Bart Hester, American politician
- Benny Hester, American music artist and songwriter
- Betty Hester, American correspondent
- Bianca Hester, Australian artist, winner of the Melbourne Prize for Urban Sculpture in 2005 and 2011
- Carolyn Hester, American folk singer and songwriter
- Dave Hester, star of A&E TV's Storage Wars
- Devin Hester, American football player
- Drew Hester, American percussionist and record producer
- Eric Hester, American composer
- Frank Hester, British businessman
- Hugh B. Hester, American army officer
- Jack W. Hester, American politician
- Jacob Hester, American football player
- James McNaughton Hester, American educator
- Jessie Hester, American football player
- Joan Hester, American politician
- Jon Hester, Substitute teacher in Kingston, New York
- John Hester, American baseball player
- Joy Hester, Australian artist
- Laurel Hester, American police officer and advocate of rights of domestic partners
- Leigh Ann Hester, American soldier and Silver Star recipient
- Lex Hester, American public administrator
- Marc Hester, Danish professional bicycle racer
- Michael Hester, Australian-born New Zealand association football referee
- Paul Hester, Australian musician
- Paul V. Hester, American Air Force officer
- Phil Hester (comics), comic book artist and writer
- Phillip Doyce Hester, former chief technology officer of Advanced Micro Devices
- Randolph T. Hester American professor, sociologist, and landscape architect
- Ray Hester, American football player
- Rita Hester, transgender African American murder victim
- Sandra Hester, American activist and former television host
- Stephen Hester, CEO of RSA Insurance Group
- Treyvon Hester, American football player
- Wallace Hester, British caricaturist for Vanity Fair
- William Hester, also known as Slew Hester, American tennis official
Fictional characters
- Hester Argyle, a character in Agatha Christie's novel Ordeal by Innocence
- Hester Latterly, main character of Anne Perry's Monk detective series
- Hester Prynne, main character of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet LetterThe Character and Death of Mrs. Hester Ann Rogers, a 1794 Methodist tract
- Hester Shaw, a character from Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines Quartet
- Hester Ulrich, a character from the 2015 American horror comedy television series, Scream Queens.
- Hester Crane, mother of Frasier Crane of Cheers and Frasier television shows.
- Hester, the daemon companion of Lee Scoresby in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series.
- Hester Sherwood, one of the four characters from the Australian 2002 play Wicked Sisters by Alma De Groen.
- Hester, the daughter of the witch from Hansel and Gretel in School for Good and Evil