Essie
Essie was given to 47 girls in 2025, #3,305 among girls’ names; 40,894 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 7,460 Americans named Essie and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (18% of everyone recorded); the median is 75 years old and half are between 63 and 84.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Essie by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Essie mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Essie is “a diminutive form of the female given name Esther.”
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Essie?
#3,305 among girls’ names, 2025
Essie rose from #4,329 in 2015 to #3,305 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 18.5 to 29.2 per million.
1,063 babies in 1919, the peak
Essie peaked in 1919, when 1,063 babies were given it (1,023 girls, #189 among girls’ names). The 47 births of 2025 are 4% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 47 | #3,305 | 0.03 |
| 2024 | 63 | #2,729 | 0.04 |
| 2023 | 53 | #3,112 | 0.03 |
| 2022 | 50 | #3,236 | 0.03 |
| 2021 | 42 | #3,635 | 0.03 |
| 2020 | 33 | #4,198 | 0.02 |
| 2019 | 53 | #3,059 | 0.03 |
| 2018 | 42 | #3,634 | 0.02 |
| 2017 | 39 | #3,872 | 0.02 |
| 2016 | 39 | #3,875 | 0.02 |
Every recorded year (145)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 33 | #4,329 | 0.02 |
| 2014 | 28 | #4,938 | 0.02 |
| 2013 | 24 | #5,540 | 0.01 |
| 2012 | 28 | #5,008 | 0.02 |
| 2011 | 12 | #9,339 | 0.01 |
| 2010 | 12 | #9,402 | 0.01 |
| 2009 | 12 | #9,575 | 0.01 |
| 2008 | 9 | #11,897 | under 0.01 |
| 2007 | 6 | #16,114 | under 0.01 |
| 2006 | 9 | #11,745 | under 0.01 |
| 2005 | 8 | #12,175 | under 0.01 |
| 2004 | 11 | #9,443 | 0.01 |
| 2003 | 10 | #9,896 | 0.01 |
| 2001 | 8 | #11,339 | under 0.01 |
| 2000 | 11 | #8,748 | 0.01 |
| 1999 | 14 | #6,937 | 0.01 |
| 1998 | 10 | #8,791 | 0.01 |
| 1997 | 13 | #6,977 | 0.01 |
| 1996 | 10 | #8,351 | 0.01 |
| 1995 | 11 | #7,675 | 0.01 |
| 1994 | 13 | #6,794 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 15 | #6,049 | 0.01 |
| 1992 | 20 | #4,907 | 0.01 |
| 1991 | 20 | #4,857 | 0.01 |
| 1990 | 25 | #4,036 | 0.01 |
| 1989 | 22 | #4,281 | 0.01 |
| 1988 | 17 | #4,899 | 0.01 |
| 1987 | 19 | #4,344 | 0.01 |
| 1986 | 18 | #4,402 | 0.01 |
| 1985 | 33 | #2,816 | 0.02 |
| 1984 | 17 | #4,374 | 0.01 |
| 1983 | 22 | #3,598 | 0.01 |
| 1982 | 31 | #2,915 | 0.02 |
| 1981 | 29 | #3,011 | 0.02 |
| 1980 | 23 | #3,539 | 0.01 |
| 1979 | 27 | #3,095 | 0.02 |
| 1978 | 31 | #2,700 | 0.02 |
| 1977 | 31 | #2,682 | 0.02 |
| 1976 | 32 | #2,499 | 0.02 |
| 1975 | 24 | #2,991 | 0.02 |
| 1974 | 31 | #2,453 | 0.02 |
| 1973 | 42 | #1,950 | 0.03 |
| 1972 | 38 | #2,069 | 0.02 |
| 1971 | 51 | #1,758 | 0.03 |
| 1970 | 48 | #1,838 | 0.03 |
| 1969 | 51 | #1,693 | 0.03 |
| 1968 | 60 | #1,461 | 0.04 |
| 1967 | 55 | #1,514 | 0.03 |
| 1966 | 63 | #1,389 | 0.04 |
| 1965 | 84 | #1,172 | 0.05 |
| 1964 | 93 | #1,142 | 0.05 |
| 1963 | 124 | #951 | 0.06 |
| 1962 | 109 | #1,032 | 0.06 |
| 1961 | 114 | #1,017 | 0.06 |
| 1960 | 139 | #887 | 0.07 |
| 1959 | 160 | #808 | 0.08 |
| 1958 | 156 | #805 | 0.08 |
| 1957 | 160 | #797 | 0.08 |
| 1956 | 212 | #658 | 0.11 |
| 1955 | 225 | #619 | 0.12 |
| 1954 | 232 | #595 | 0.12 |
| 1953 | 263 | #529 | 0.14 |
| 1952 | 283 | #499 | 0.15 |
| 1951 | 270 | #500 | 0.15 |
| 1950 | 313 | #458 | 0.18 |
| 1949 | 326 | #438 | 0.19 |
| 1948 | 324 | #440 | 0.19 |
| 1947 | 327 | #451 | 0.18 |
| 1946 | 341 | #414 | 0.22 |
| 1945 | 389 | #350 | 0.30 |
| 1944 | 414 | #337 | 0.31 |
| 1943 | 350 | #391 | 0.25 |
| 1942 | 415 | #342 | 0.31 |
| 1941 | 390 | #333 | 0.32 |
| 1940 | 420 | #309 | 0.37 |
| 1939 | 460 | #290 | 0.42 |
| 1938 | 451 | #294 | 0.41 |
| 1937 | 472 | #284 | 0.44 |
| 1936 | 494 | #274 | 0.47 |
| 1935 | 498 | #272 | 0.47 |
| 1934 | 538 | #267 | 0.52 |
| 1933 | 568 | #257 | 0.56 |
| 1932 | 678 | #234 | 0.64 |
| 1931 | 579 | #251 | 0.54 |
| 1930 | 617 | #250 | 0.55 |
| 1929 | 667 | #239 | 0.60 |
| 1928 | 806 | #221 | 0.70 |
| 1927 | 783 | #227 | 0.66 |
| 1926 | 883 | #211 | 0.74 |
| 1925 | 925 | #211 | 0.76 |
| 1924 | 936 | #210 | 0.75 |
| 1923 | 917 | #212 | 0.76 |
| 1922 | 1,022 | #200 | 0.85 |
| 1921 | 1,032 | #199 | 0.84 |
| 1920 | 996 | #197 | 0.83 |
| 1919 | 1,023 | #189 | 0.91 |
| 1918 | 1,019 | #194 | 0.88 |
| 1917 | 945 | #194 | 0.87 |
| 1916 | 904 | #197 | 0.87 |
| 1915 | 869 | #191 | 0.88 |
| 1914 | 737 | #181 | 1.0 |
| 1913 | 662 | #175 | 1.1 |
| 1912 | 695 | #155 | 1.2 |
| 1911 | 525 | #156 | 1.3 |
| 1910 | 620 | #134 | 1.6 |
| 1909 | 508 | #139 | 1.5 |
| 1908 | 451 | #148 | 1.3 |
| 1907 | 486 | #137 | 1.5 |
| 1906 | 409 | #145 | 1.4 |
| 1905 | 476 | #132 | 1.6 |
| 1904 | 457 | #129 | 1.7 |
| 1903 | 396 | #140 | 1.5 |
| 1902 | 424 | #133 | 1.6 |
| 1901 | 368 | #136 | 1.5 |
| 1900 | 492 | #129 | 1.6 |
| 1899 | 342 | #136 | 1.5 |
| 1898 | 336 | #150 | 1.3 |
| 1897 | 329 | #145 | 1.4 |
| 1896 | 381 | #126 | 1.6 |
| 1895 | 335 | #136 | 1.4 |
| 1894 | 311 | #137 | 1.4 |
| 1893 | 258 | #153 | 1.2 |
| 1892 | 294 | #141 | 1.4 |
| 1891 | 217 | #157 | 1.2 |
| 1890 | 256 | #138 | 1.3 |
| 1889 | 265 | #136 | 1.5 |
| 1888 | 230 | #143 | 1.3 |
| 1887 | 185 | #140 | 1.3 |
| 1886 | 163 | #149 | 1.1 |
| 1885 | 153 | #149 | 1.1 |
| 1884 | 148 | #142 | 1.1 |
| 1883 | 139 | #140 | 1.2 |
| 1882 | 113 | #153 | 1.0 |
| 1881 | 80 | #168 | 0.87 |
| 1880 | 78 | #168 | 0.86 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Essie a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 40,894 Americans recorded as Essie, 97% are girls and 3% boys. In 2025 it went to 47 girls; SSA lists no boys with it that year (fewer than 5, or none).
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Essie: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Essie, and how old are they?
7,460 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 18% of the 40,894 Americans ever recorded as Essie. The median Essie alive today is 75 years old; half are between 63 and 84.
The 2020 Census counted 7,235 people named Essie (7,019 women and girls, 216 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 9,800 born in the U.S. The Census count is 26% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 2,450 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 3,230 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 651 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 327 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 171 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 543 |
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).
Where are babies named Essie born?
The states with the most babies named Essie are Georgia, Mississippi and Alabama, with 41% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Mississippi and Alabama are not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | 4,483 | not ranked | 4.4× |
| Mississippi | 3,480 | not ranked | 5.2× |
| Alabama | 3,465 | not ranked | 3.9× |
| South Carolina | 2,635 | not ranked | 3.9× |
| North Carolina | 2,516 | not ranked | 2.3× |
| Texas | 2,017 | #2,726 | 1.1× |
| Louisiana | 1,718 | not ranked | 2.5× |
| Arkansas | 1,626 | not ranked | 2.9× |
| Florida | 1,431 | not ranked | 2.9× |
| Tennessee | 922 | not ranked | 1.1× |
Where Essie is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Essie is most over-represented in Mississippi: since 1910 it was given 5.2 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Essie with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Essie
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 Essie and names like it
- Compare Essie and VirgieBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1910sEssie peaked in 1919.
- Georgia’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Essie since 1910.
- The top names of 1919The year the most babies were named Essie.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Essie alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with EMost given first.