Unisex name · since 1978
Essa
760 babies named Essa in U.S. Social Security records since 1978, with the highest year being 2022. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #6,091 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #2,589 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 760
- born since 1978
- 2010s
- peak decade
760 babies have been named Essa since 1978, making it today's #2589 unisex name.
Essa has 760 recorded births among boys since 1978, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #2589 as of the latest data, more common than 81% of boys, busiest in the 2010s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1978 to 2025.
- #6,091 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #2,589 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 760 born since 1978
- 2010s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Essa ranks #6,091 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #2,589 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 760 born since 1978, peaking in the 2010s.
- #6,091 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #2,589 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 760
- born since 1978
- 2010s
- peak decade
Essa's 760 recorded births place it above 86.59% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
7 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by New York.
How Essa compares
760 Top 36% higher than 64% of 13,930 names currently given to boys
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys 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
Essa's all-time total is 106% above the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Essa | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 760 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 57 | 34 | 22,252 |
Essa's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Essa's full recorded timeline at 2008, 80% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 20% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1983, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 2022 peak of 57 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Essa popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1978–2025
- Peak year (2022)
- 57
- Annual births at peak, across 48 years of records
Essa popularity over time - girls
226 total births recorded since 1885 (Essa as girls' name)
Essa by decade
2010s is the heaviest window (305 births, 40% of the file).
2010s was Essa's strongest decade.
305 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 40% of all-time use.
Essa births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1970s 6
1970s
6 births
- 1980s 14
1980s
14 births
- 1990s 57
1990s
57 births
- 2000s 114
2000s
114 births
- 2010s
2010s
305 births
- 2020s
2020s
264 births
What this shows Peak: 2010s at 305 births (40% of all-time use).
How Essa compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Essa's total volume
Essa by state
Where Essa concentrates geographically, total births since 1978
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 87 | 11.4% |
| #2 | Texas | | 42 | 5.5% |
| #3 | California | | 39 | 5.1% |
| #4 | Michigan | | 30 | 3.9% |
| #5 | Illinois | | 12 | 1.6% |
| #6 | Virginia | | 12 | 1.6% |
| #7 | Ohio | | 5 | 0.7% |
87 of 760 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 7 reporting states.
Frequently Asked Questions
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What to do with Essa's data
- Essa's usage has stayed within range of its 2010s decade-level peak (305 total births) through the 2020s (264) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
- New York records the most Essas (87 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. New York names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Essa
Nearby Names Like Essa
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Essa
Compare Essa side by side: Essa vs Essie Essa vs Essex Essa vs Essiah
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Essa
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Essa: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2022)
Similar record span (~47 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, 1978–2025 (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 Essa 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.