Name of the Week: Chester

 

 

Origin:

Chester derives from the English habitational surname taken from the city of Chester in Cheshire. Chester is a city of much history, dating right back to Roman occupation. The name of the city itself derives from the Latin castrum meaning "fort" as it was the home of the XX Valeria Victrix, one of the three legions of the Roman army stationed in Britain. The walls of this fort are still present today, making Chester one of the best preserved walled cities in Britain.  The Romans themselves called the city Deva, thanks to the River Dee, however, it was the term castrum which was adopted into Old English as cestre. A great number of British towns and cities contain this element (Leicester, Alcester, Winchester, Chesterford, Doncaster...). Chester was known as Legercestre (in various spellings*) which was the Anglo-Saxon form of the Latinised name Cair Legion "Fort of the Legion." By the 11th century, the first element was dropped and it was shortened simply to Caester/Chester.*

Usage:

Chester was in use as a surname from at least the 12th century as we find a Richard de Cestre recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1200. It was adopted as a first name as early as the 16th century. It has never been very popular in Britain, but it has been used in consistent (if low) usage over the last 500 years as births in England and Wales show: 1840s: 41 births 1850s: 33 births 1860s: 45 births 1870s: 62 births 1880s: 77 births 1890s: 75 births 1900s: 68 births 1910s: 59 births 1920s: 58 births 1930s: 48 births 1940s: 83 births 1950s: 30 births In America, however, Chester was much more popular, ranking in the top 100 from 1880 to 1929. Though there is no official data pre-1880 in the US, it is tempting to think that the #85 rank in 1880 was (at least in part) thanks to the 1880 US election in which Chester A. Arthur was the Vice-presidential candidate. The following year he was inaugurated as the 21st President of the United States until 1885 which may well have helped the name's continued popularity in America. Nancy Man's post attests to children directly being named in honour of Chester. A. Arthur. Click to enlarge By 1996 in England and Wales, Chester ranked #654 (24 births) and maintained that until it sunk down to its lowest point of #1110 (17 births) in 2004. It rose a little after, reaching a peak in 2012 at #507 (74 births). In 2013, it ranked #581 with 61 births and then shot up to #369 (116 births) the following year.  This rise coincided with the birth of little Chester Baldwin, son of presenter and author Holly Willoughby, in September 2014. The following year it took a marked leap to #231 (247 births) in 2015, and maintained the rank at #225 (248 births) in 2016.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Chester A. Arthur (1829–1886), the 21st president of the United States. * Chester Manifold (1867–1918), Australian politician and philanthropist. * Chester W. Nimitz (1885–1966), American five-star admiral. * Chester Conklin (1886–1971), American comedian and actor. * Chester Morris (1901–1970), American actor. * Chester Carlson (1906–1968), American physicist and inventor of xerography. * Chester Burnett (1910–1976), known as Howlin' Wolf, American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player. * Chester William Wilmot (1911–1954), Australian war correspondent, reporter, and author. * Chester Burton "Chet" Atkins (1924–2001), American musician. Contemporary: * Chester Thompson (born 1948), American drummer and session musician. * Chester Bennington (1976-2017), the lead vocalist of the rock band Linkin Park. Literature and Other Media: * Chester McBadbat in "The Fairly OddParents". * Chester Meredith, character in P. G. Wodehouse's "Chester Forgets Himself". * Chester Goode, character on TV's "Gunsmoke"

Variants:

Chesterfield

Pronunciation:

CHES-tə [key]

Possible diminutives:

Chet, Ches

Sibling Names:

Olive     Hazel     Lucille     Tabitha     Constance     Josephine  Winston     Barnaby     Sidney     Douglas     Leonard     Fraser

Name Lists:

Funky-Clunky Names

 

If you like Chester you may also like:   Nelson, Victor, Franklin, Wilfred, Vincent, Lester, Fintan, Walter, Edwin, Gilbert

Thanks to Louise for requesting this name.