Contribute your knowledge to the name Lester

Comments and insights on the name Lester

Awful, old-man name. I can't imagine doing this to a little boy. I knew one woman my age who named her little boy Lester, and it was because her husband insisted on having a junior. They called him a completely different name. Les isn't a bad nickname.

Personal experiences with the name Lester

I have a love/hate relationship with my name. On the one hand, I've always been the only Lester in my class, school, university, job. Thus, if someone's looking for a "Lester", then everyone who knows me can point in my direction. It's original.

On the other hand, I think some people just pause when they hear it. "How do you spell it?" is a common question in foreign countries because the name combines the hard to say "L" and "R" sounds. The flip side to having an original name is that it does not afford any anonymity. Because I'm the only "Lester" I feel like I have to always be on my best behavior.

Lastly, while "Les" seems like the obvious nickname, the far more common one is "Molester" as in "Lester the Molester". It's something I have never appreciated and every one who figures it out seems to think they're clever. To combat this annoying thing, I try to pre-empt the clever thing by saying you can call me "Mo". Nonetheless, it's not something I really like.

For some reason, on television my name is often used by insecure white dweebs or cool black guys, e.g. Lester Freamon from "The Wire". Since I'm neither, I think some people are not sure what to think.

Nicknames for Lester

Les
Molester (obviously negative)

Meanings and history of the name Lester

A transferred surname derived from the English place name Leicester.

Famous real-life people named Lester

Lester Holt on Dateline

Lester in song, story & screen

Lester Freamon, police officer on "The Wire"
Les Nessman, radio guy from "WKRP in Cincinnati"
Lester Gooch, who wrote the comic strip Fearless Fosdick