Objective Implicit self‐esteem, which is based on associative learning processes, is considered to be constituted earlier in life than explicit, verbalized self‐esteem. While depressed individuals report negative explicit self‐esteem, research has predominantly demonstrated equivalent levels of implicit self‐esteem of depressed and healthy individuals. We further illuminate this finding by theorizing and empirically demonstrating that chronically depressed individuals show particularly low levels of implicit self‐esteem when depression had an early onset. Method We applied measures of implicit (name–letter test) and explicit (Rosenberg Self‐Esteem Scale) self‐esteem in chronically depressed patients with an early onset (N = 17), a late onset (N = 13), and an episodic depression (N = 29). Results As expected, patients with an early onset showed lower implicit self‐esteem than the 2 other groups. Conclusion Implicit self‐esteem may function as a marker of how deeply negative self‐views are internalized. Furthermore, the distinction between early and late onset of chronic depression seems to be valuable for classification and potentially treatment of unipolar depression.