Nesta
Nesta is a name with a single cultural origin: Welsh.
- Welsh
Meaning & Origin of Nesta
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Nesta is a name with a single cultural origin: Welsh.
Origin data from Behind the Name .
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- Welsh
The Story of Nesta
As a girl name
American parents first put Nesta on the record books as a girl name in 1928, with 5 registered babies. Its peak popularity came in 1937, when 11 Nestas were born — ranking #2,570 that year. About 42% of every Nesta on record arrived during the 1930s, its defining decade. Nesta last appeared in the published SSA data in 2024, with 11 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 99 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1920s to the 2020s.
As a boy name
American parents first put Nesta on the record books as a boy name in 1995, with 5 registered babies. Its peak popularity came in 2014, when 10 Nestas were born — ranking #7,560 that year. About 54% of every Nesta on record arrived during the 2010s, its defining decade. Nesta last appeared in the published SSA data in 2018, with 10 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 108 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1990s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Names that sound like Nesta
Phonetically similar names — useful when Nesta 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 Nesta
What does the name Nesta mean?
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About the name Nesta
Nesta is a unisex baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1995 and has accumulated 108 births in the dataset. Nesta's peak popularity came in 2014 when it ranked #7,560. Use the chart and map above to compare Nesta's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 2014 →
- Names of the 2010s →
- Names starting with "N" →
- Browse all boy names →
- Top names of 2026 →
- Browse unisex names →
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.