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Why are Estonians not considered Balts?

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Map of the Baltic States-Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania-showing country borders, major uplands and plains, highest points, and the capitals Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius. Surrounding countries and bodies of water, including Russia, Belarus, Poland, Finland, Sweden, the Baltic Sea, and the Gulf of Finland, are also labeled. — Baltic states The Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

Estonians are not considered Balts because they belong to a different linguistic and ethnic group than the Latvians and Lithuanians, who are the primary peoples identified as Balts.12

While the term "Baltic states" refers to the geographic region encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, the distinction lies in their heritage:

Linguistic Classification: The Latvian and Lithuanian languages belong to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European linguistic family. In contrast, the Estonian language is a member of the Finno-Ugric branch of the Uralic language family, making it most closely related to Finnish and other Finnic peoples.213
Ethnic Identity: The term "Balt" refers specifically to members of the Indo-European linguistic family living on the southeastern shores of the Baltic Sea. Because Estonians are Finnic peoples, they do not share this specific Indo-European linguistic ancestry.12

Although they share a geographic region and historical experiences, the fundamental difference in their linguistic roots is the primary reason Estonians are not classified as Balts.12