Hesper
Hesper was a bulk-freighter steamship that was used to tow schooner-barges on the Great Lakes. She sank in Lake Superior off Silver Bay, Minnesota, in a late-spring snowstorm in 1905. The remains of the ship are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Meaning & Origin of Hesper
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Hesper was a bulk-freighter steamship that was used to tow schooner-barges on the Great Lakes. She sank in Lake Superior off Silver Bay, Minnesota, in a late-spring snowstorm in 1905. The remains of the ship are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
The Story of Hesper
American parents first put Hesper on the record books as a baby girl name in 1913, with 7 registered babies. Its peak popularity came in 1982, when 10 Hespers were born — ranking #6,370 that year. About 44% of every Hesper on record arrived during the 1970s, its defining decade. Hesper last appeared in the published SSA data in 2024, with 5 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 108 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1910s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Names that sound like Hesper
Phonetically similar names — useful when Hesper is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Hesper
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About the name Hesper
Hesper is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1913 and has accumulated 108 births in the dataset. Hesper's peak popularity came in 1982 when it ranked #6,370. Use the chart and map above to compare Hesper's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1982 →
- Names of the 1980s →
- Names starting with "H" →
- Browse all girl names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.