Girls' name · since 1880
Bessie
Bessie has 170,140 recorded births since 1880 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1916 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #233 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #6,838 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 170,140
- born since 1880
- 1910s
- peak decade
170,140 babies have been named Bessie since 1880, making it today's #6838 girls' name.
Bessie has 170,140 recorded births among girls since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #6838 as of the latest data, more common than 60% of girls, busiest in the 1910s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #233 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #6,838 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 170,140 born since 1880
- 1910s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Bessie ranks #233 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #6,838 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 170,140 born since 1880, peaking in the 1910s.
- #233 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #6,838 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 170,140
- born since 1880
- 1910s
- peak decade
Bessie's 170,140 recorded births place it above 99.67% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
50 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Alabama.
How Bessie compares
170,140 Top 2% higher than 98% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Bessie's all-time total is 453x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Bessie | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 170,140 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 4,122 | 21 | 19,840 |
Bessie's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Bessie's full recorded timeline at 1953, 5% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 95% in the earlier half -- the name was more prevalent in its earlier era than it is today. Its quietest year on record was 2004, with just 7 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1916 peak of 4,122 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Bessie popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1916)
- 4,122
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Bessie popularity over time - boys
737 total births recorded since 1881 (Bessie as boys' name)
Bessie by decade
1910s is the heaviest window (33,859 births, 20% of the file).
1910s was Bessie's strongest decade.
33,859 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 20% of all-time use.
Bessie births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s
1880s
15,373 births
- 1890s
1890s
24,417 births
- 1900s
1900s
23,984 births
- 1910s
1910s
33,859 births
- 1920s
1920s
32,158 births
- 1930s
1930s
18,035 births
- 1940s 11,062
1940s
11,062 births
- 1950s 5,942
1950s
5,942 births
- 1960s 2,592
1960s
2,592 births
- 1970s 1,207
1970s
1,207 births
- 1980s 749
1980s
749 births
- 1990s 386
1990s
386 births
- 2000s 180
2000s
180 births
- 2010s 109
2010s
109 births
- 2020s 87
2020s
87 births
What this shows Peak: 1910s at 33,859 births (20% of all-time use).
How Bessie compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Bessie's total volume
Bessie by state
Where Bessie concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Alabama | | 7,540 | 4.4% |
| #2 | North Carolina | | 7,536 | 4.4% |
| #3 | Georgia | | 7,510 | 4.4% |
| #4 | Mississippi | | 7,300 | 4.3% |
| #5 | Texas | | 6,826 | 4.0% |
| #6 | South Carolina | | 5,606 | 3.3% |
| #7 | Tennessee | | 4,814 | 2.8% |
| #8 | Virginia | | 4,745 | 2.8% |
7,540 of 170,140 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 50 reporting states.
Bessie appears in 50 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Bessie? ▼
Where does Bessie sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Bessie most popular? ▼
Where is Bessie most popular? ▼
How long has the name Bessie been used? ▼
What names are similar to Bessie? ▼
What to do with Bessie's data
- Bessie's decade-level peak was the 1910s (33,859 total births); usage has since declined to 87 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- Alabama records the most Bessies (7,540 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Alabama names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Bessie
Nearby Names Like Bessie
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Bessie
Compare Bessie side by side: Bessie vs Bess Bessie vs Besse Bessie vs Bessy
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Bessie
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Bessie: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1916)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Bessie draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.