Aster is the Greek word for "star" and the name of the star-shaped flower that blooms in late summer, which makes it both a nature name and a cousin of Astrid and Esther. In the United States it is given to girls more often, but it has found a following among parents of boys who like short botanical names such as Asher and Atlas. For boys it had fewer than five births in 2000, climbed from number 12363 in 2016 to number 2794 in 2024 and stands at number 2888 in 2025 with 43 births.