Dessa
Dessa was given to 16 girls in 2025, #6,908 among girls’ names; 1,817 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 1,050 Americans named Dessa and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (58% of everyone recorded); the median is 36 years old and half are between 18 and 58.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Dessa by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
How popular is Dessa?
#6,908 among girls’ names, 2025
Dessa fell from #6,291 in 2015 to #6,908 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 11.2 to 10.0 per million.
31 babies in 2001, the peak
Dessa peaked in 2001, when 31 girls were given it, #4,040 among girls’ names. The 16 births of 2025 are 52% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 16 | #6,908 | 0.01 |
| 2024 | 15 | #7,330 | 0.01 |
| 2023 | 8 | #11,457 | under 0.01 |
| 2022 | 11 | #9,207 | 0.01 |
| 2021 | 5 | #15,853 | under 0.01 |
| 2020 | 20 | #5,914 | 0.01 |
| 2019 | 22 | #5,655 | 0.01 |
| 2018 | 14 | #7,873 | 0.01 |
| 2017 | 18 | #6,603 | 0.01 |
| 2016 | 19 | #6,482 | 0.01 |
Every recorded year (142)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 20 | #6,291 | 0.01 |
| 2014 | 15 | #7,767 | 0.01 |
| 2013 | 19 | #6,537 | 0.01 |
| 2012 | 19 | #6,668 | 0.01 |
| 2011 | 17 | #7,200 | 0.01 |
| 2010 | 12 | #9,381 | 0.01 |
| 2009 | 12 | #9,542 | 0.01 |
| 2008 | 17 | #7,496 | 0.01 |
| 2007 | 24 | #5,760 | 0.01 |
| 2006 | 16 | #7,579 | 0.01 |
| 2005 | 21 | #5,870 | 0.01 |
| 2004 | 14 | #7,945 | 0.01 |
| 2003 | 17 | #6,671 | 0.01 |
| 2002 | 13 | #7,945 | 0.01 |
| 2001 | 31 | #4,040 | 0.02 |
| 2000 | 18 | #6,008 | 0.01 |
| 1999 | 8 | #10,610 | under 0.01 |
| 1998 | 10 | #8,764 | 0.01 |
| 1996 | 11 | #7,724 | 0.01 |
| 1995 | 7 | #10,813 | under 0.01 |
| 1994 | 13 | #6,771 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 18 | #5,264 | 0.01 |
| 1992 | 8 | #9,703 | under 0.01 |
| 1991 | 9 | #8,781 | under 0.01 |
| 1990 | 17 | #5,348 | 0.01 |
| 1989 | 12 | #6,641 | 0.01 |
| 1988 | 16 | #5,110 | 0.01 |
| 1987 | 11 | #6,436 | 0.01 |
| 1986 | 7 | #8,777 | under 0.01 |
| 1985 | 11 | #6,136 | 0.01 |
| 1984 | 13 | #5,284 | 0.01 |
| 1983 | 19 | #3,981 | 0.01 |
| 1982 | 19 | #4,056 | 0.01 |
| 1981 | 7 | #8,337 | under 0.01 |
| 1980 | 17 | #4,372 | 0.01 |
| 1979 | 15 | #4,672 | 0.01 |
| 1978 | 19 | #3,812 | 0.01 |
| 1977 | 8 | #7,046 | 0.01 |
| 1976 | 11 | #5,308 | 0.01 |
| 1975 | 12 | #4,924 | 0.01 |
| 1974 | 16 | #3,899 | 0.01 |
| 1973 | 7 | #6,839 | under 0.01 |
| 1972 | 7 | #6,729 | under 0.01 |
| 1971 | 9 | #5,642 | 0.01 |
| 1970 | 14 | #4,090 | 0.01 |
| 1969 | 12 | #4,245 | 0.01 |
| 1968 | 12 | #4,052 | 0.01 |
| 1967 | 10 | #4,372 | 0.01 |
| 1966 | 13 | #3,597 | 0.01 |
| 1965 | 12 | #3,791 | 0.01 |
| 1964 | 13 | #3,738 | 0.01 |
| 1963 | 13 | #3,664 | 0.01 |
| 1962 | 9 | #4,613 | under 0.01 |
| 1961 | 13 | #3,650 | 0.01 |
| 1960 | 12 | #3,741 | 0.01 |
| 1959 | 12 | #3,666 | 0.01 |
| 1958 | 9 | #4,260 | under 0.01 |
| 1957 | 11 | #3,750 | 0.01 |
| 1956 | 18 | #2,743 | 0.01 |
| 1955 | 11 | #3,628 | 0.01 |
| 1954 | 12 | #3,361 | 0.01 |
| 1953 | 10 | #3,756 | 0.01 |
| 1952 | 18 | #2,514 | 0.01 |
| 1951 | 12 | #3,139 | 0.01 |
| 1950 | 12 | #3,101 | 0.01 |
| 1949 | 9 | #3,684 | 0.01 |
| 1948 | 17 | #2,433 | 0.01 |
| 1947 | 12 | #3,095 | 0.01 |
| 1946 | 11 | #3,074 | 0.01 |
| 1945 | 9 | #3,195 | 0.01 |
| 1944 | 5 | #4,722 | under 0.01 |
| 1943 | 8 | #3,571 | 0.01 |
| 1942 | 7 | #3,825 | 0.01 |
| 1941 | 9 | #3,071 | 0.01 |
| 1940 | 7 | #3,585 | 0.01 |
| 1939 | 10 | #2,768 | 0.01 |
| 1938 | 10 | #2,778 | 0.01 |
| 1937 | 13 | #2,347 | 0.01 |
| 1936 | 9 | #2,916 | 0.01 |
| 1935 | 9 | #2,978 | 0.01 |
| 1934 | 12 | #2,453 | 0.01 |
| 1933 | 5 | #4,363 | under 0.01 |
| 1932 | 23 | #1,603 | 0.02 |
| 1931 | 11 | #2,613 | 0.01 |
| 1930 | 9 | #3,116 | 0.01 |
| 1929 | 15 | #2,220 | 0.01 |
| 1928 | 8 | #3,502 | 0.01 |
| 1927 | 17 | #2,190 | 0.01 |
| 1926 | 11 | #2,919 | 0.01 |
| 1925 | 14 | #2,518 | 0.01 |
| 1924 | 14 | #2,556 | 0.01 |
| 1923 | 18 | #2,105 | 0.01 |
| 1922 | 22 | #1,848 | 0.02 |
| 1921 | 21 | #1,935 | 0.02 |
| 1920 | 16 | #2,299 | 0.01 |
| 1919 | 13 | #2,549 | 0.01 |
| 1918 | 17 | #2,127 | 0.01 |
| 1917 | 17 | #2,017 | 0.02 |
| 1916 | 20 | #1,752 | 0.02 |
| 1915 | 18 | #1,818 | 0.02 |
| 1914 | 13 | #1,928 | 0.02 |
| 1913 | 22 | #1,186 | 0.04 |
| 1912 | 9 | #2,012 | 0.02 |
| 1911 | 6 | #2,263 | 0.01 |
| 1910 | 17 | #1,081 | 0.04 |
| 1909 | 7 | #1,808 | 0.02 |
| 1908 | 11 | #1,281 | 0.03 |
| 1907 | 7 | #1,678 | 0.02 |
| 1906 | 8 | #1,452 | 0.03 |
| 1904 | 12 | #1,060 | 0.04 |
| 1903 | 7 | #1,477 | 0.03 |
| 1901 | 11 | #1,025 | 0.05 |
| 1900 | 16 | #947 | 0.05 |
| 1899 | 17 | #797 | 0.07 |
| 1898 | 12 | #1,018 | 0.05 |
| 1897 | 14 | #872 | 0.06 |
| 1896 | 10 | #1,061 | 0.04 |
| 1895 | 11 | #1,001 | 0.05 |
| 1894 | 10 | #1,015 | 0.04 |
| 1893 | 7 | #1,203 | 0.03 |
| 1892 | 9 | #1,029 | 0.04 |
| 1891 | 8 | #1,030 | 0.04 |
| 1889 | 17 | #625 | 0.10 |
| 1888 | 13 | #732 | 0.07 |
| 1887 | 7 | #969 | 0.05 |
| 1886 | 10 | #741 | 0.07 |
| 1885 | 9 | #755 | 0.07 |
| 1884 | 6 | #951 | 0.05 |
| 1883 | 10 | #620 | 0.09 |
| 1882 | 8 | #691 | 0.07 |
| 1881 | 7 | #694 | 0.08 |
| 1880 | 12 | #500 | 0.13 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Dessa a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Dessa has been recorded only for girls: SSA lists no boys with the name in 142 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Dessa: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Dessa, and how old are they?
1,050 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 58% of the 1,817 Americans ever recorded as Dessa. The median Dessa alive today is 36 years old; half are between 18 and 58.
The 2020 Census counted 1,018 people named Dessa (1,013 women and girls, 5 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 1,045 born in the U.S. The Census count is 3% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 48 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 181 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 180 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 192 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 246 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 201 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 24,347 babies since 1880, Dessa is the fourth most given (7.5% of them). In 2025 it was given to 16 of their 130 babies (12%), again the fourth most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Dessa
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Dessa and names like it
- Compare Dessa and DessieBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2000sDessa peaked in 2001.
- Alabama’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Dessa since 1910.
- The top names of 2001The year the most babies were named Dessa.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Dessa alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with DMost given first.