Meaning of the nameNestor

Male
Greek origin
Nes-tor

Nestor is a male name of Greek origin, from Νέστωρ, which Behind the Name interprets as 'the one who returns', from néomai, 'to return'.

Meaning

“'the one who returns', from Greek néomai, 'to return'”

Source: Wiktionary: Nestor · Behind the Name: Nestor

People (2022): 12,716
Rank in Brazil: #1,445
Median age: 60 years
2010 Census: 16,014; people

Nestor in the 2022 Census

People with the first name Nestor, by the decade they were born. In the chart, 70 = the 1970s and 20+ = 2020 to 2022. The largest group was born in the 1950s (3,070 people).

29 women 12,687 men

Source: IBGE, 2022 Demographic Census, Nomes no Brasil. The census counts the first name of people alive in 2022; small counts are not published, and the first group covers everyone born before 1940. How to read these data.

Where the name Nestor is most common

States with the highest share of people named Nestor in the population, in the 2022 Census.

All states

State	People	% of population
Rio Grande do Sul	2,786	0.026%
São Paulo	2,265	0.005%
Paraná	1,140	0.010%
Bahia	930	0.007%
Santa Catarina	899	0.012%
Minas Gerais	894	0.004%
Rio de Janeiro	538	0.003%
Pará	405	0.005%
Goiás	289	0.004%
Pernambuco	277	0.003%
Maranhão	275	0.004%
Mato Grosso do Sul	270	0.010%
Mato Grosso	257	0.007%
Amazonas	240	0.006%
Piauí	210	0.006%
Ceará	182	0.002%
Espírito Santo	148	0.004%
Distrito Federal	133	0.005%
Roraima	91	0.014%
Rondônia	90	0.006%
Paraíba	85	0.002%
Rio Grande do Norte	72	0.002%
Alagoas	61	0.002%
Sergipe	55	0.003%
Amapá	55	0.008%
Tocantins	47	0.003%
Acre	22	0.003%

States with fewer than 15 people with the name are not shown: IBGE does not publish those counts.

About the name Nestor

Nestor comes from Ancient Greek Νέστωρ (Néstōr). Behind the Name gives the sense 'the one who returns, the one who comes back home', from νέομαι (néomai), 'to return', and Wiktionary presents this link as possible, citing néomai, 'to return safely', and νόστος (nóstos), 'homecoming'. In Homer's Iliad, Nestor is the name of the king of Pylos. In the 2022 Census, IBGE recorded 12,716 people named Nestor, with a median age of 60; proportionally, the name is most common in Rio Grande do Sul.

Sources

Wiktionary: Nestor · en.wiktionary.org · meaning
Behind the Name: Nestor · behindthename.com · meaning

Questions about the name Nestor

What does the name Nestor mean?

Nestor means “'the one who returns', from Greek néomai, 'to return'”, according to Wiktionary and Behind the Name.

How many people are named Nestor in Brazil?

IBGE's 2022 Census recorded 12,716 people with the first name Nestor, which ranks it number 1,445 among the country's names. The largest group was born in the 1950s.

Is Nestor a boy's or a girl's name?

Nestor is a male name: in the 2022 Census, 29 women and 12,687 men had this name.

What is the origin of the name Nestor?

Nestor is a name of Greek origin. The sources are listed at the end of the page.

In which Brazilian state is Nestor most common?

Proportionally, in Rio Grande do Sul: 0.026% of the state's population is named Nestor (2,786 people), according to the 2022 Census.

More names of Greek origin

See all

Spotted a mistake? Report a correction for Nestor with a source. See the methodology.