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Chester

Chester: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“fortress, walled town”
Origin
Latin
Say it
CHESS-ter · 2 syllables
Used for
Boys

From an English surname and place name derived from Latin castra, meaning a Roman fort or camp. It also refers to places such as Chester in England.

English namesNames meaning strengthClassic namesSurname-style names

How popular is Chester?

202431.0 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Chester in 2024102

2024 rank#1,648 boys

Peak year1918

Total US babies since 1880122,197

Chester is steady now but far below its 1918 peak.

Names like Chester

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • Chetcamp of soldiers · English
  • Lucasfrom Lucania · Latin
  • Leolion · Latin
  • Julianyouthful, downy-bearded · Latin
  • Anthonyof the Antonius family · Latin
  • RomanRoman, from Rome · Latin
  • Bennettblessed · Latin
  • Adrianfrom Hadria · Latin

Chester questions

What does the name Chester mean?

Chester means "fortress, walled town". It comes from Latin. From an English surname and place name derived from Latin castra, meaning a Roman fort or camp. It also refers to places such as Chester in England.

Is Chester a boy or girl name?

Chester is mainly a boy's name in US records (99% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Chester?

102 US babies were named Chester in 2024. Its peak year was 1918.

How do you pronounce Chester?

Chester is usually pronounced CHESS-ter.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.