Lessie
Lessie was last recorded in 2023, when 7 babies were given it; 15,018 Americans have been recorded with it between 1880 and 2023 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 2,970 Americans named Lessie and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (20% of everyone recorded); the median is 74 years old and half are between 63 and 83.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Lessie by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
How popular is Lessie?
Unranked in 2025
Its last girls’ rank on record is #12,888, in 2023; SSA lists a name only in years with 5 or more births.
407 babies in 1916, the peak
Lessie peaked in 1916, when 407 babies were given it (382 girls, #310 among girls’ names). It was not recorded in 2025.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 7 | #12,888 | under 0.01 |
| 2008 | 7 | #14,709 | under 0.01 |
| 2007 | 5 | #19,285 | under 0.01 |
| 2006 | 5 | #18,843 | under 0.01 |
| 2003 | 9 | #10,923 | under 0.01 |
| 2002 | 7 | #13,017 | under 0.01 |
| 2000 | 5 | #16,476 | under 0.01 |
| 1999 | 7 | #12,119 | under 0.01 |
| 1998 | 9 | #9,762 | 0.01 |
| 1997 | 5 | #15,094 | under 0.01 |
Every recorded year (126)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 7 | #11,268 | under 0.01 |
| 1995 | 9 | #9,198 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 9 | #9,179 | under 0.01 |
| 1992 | 9 | #9,173 | under 0.01 |
| 1991 | 15 | #6,124 | 0.01 |
| 1990 | 14 | #6,315 | 0.01 |
| 1989 | 11 | #7,242 | 0.01 |
| 1988 | 14 | #5,762 | 0.01 |
| 1987 | 16 | #4,979 | 0.01 |
| 1986 | 8 | #8,152 | under 0.01 |
| 1985 | 17 | #4,560 | 0.01 |
| 1984 | 19 | #4,089 | 0.01 |
| 1983 | 17 | #4,384 | 0.01 |
| 1982 | 23 | #3,596 | 0.01 |
| 1981 | 18 | #4,256 | 0.01 |
| 1980 | 16 | #4,640 | 0.01 |
| 1979 | 19 | #3,981 | 0.01 |
| 1978 | 18 | #3,998 | 0.01 |
| 1977 | 9 | #6,624 | 0.01 |
| 1976 | 23 | #3,145 | 0.02 |
| 1975 | 19 | #3,578 | 0.01 |
| 1974 | 24 | #2,964 | 0.02 |
| 1973 | 12 | #4,720 | 0.01 |
| 1972 | 16 | #3,810 | 0.01 |
| 1971 | 30 | #2,518 | 0.02 |
| 1970 | 17 | #3,652 | 0.01 |
| 1969 | 33 | #2,232 | 0.02 |
| 1968 | 42 | #1,843 | 0.03 |
| 1967 | 23 | #2,599 | 0.01 |
| 1966 | 49 | #1,613 | 0.03 |
| 1965 | 44 | #1,705 | 0.02 |
| 1964 | 56 | #1,528 | 0.03 |
| 1963 | 49 | #1,638 | 0.03 |
| 1962 | 55 | #1,519 | 0.03 |
| 1961 | 69 | #1,346 | 0.03 |
| 1960 | 49 | #1,609 | 0.02 |
| 1959 | 53 | #1,488 | 0.03 |
| 1958 | 68 | #1,285 | 0.03 |
| 1957 | 78 | #1,197 | 0.04 |
| 1956 | 76 | #1,198 | 0.04 |
| 1955 | 104 | #979 | 0.05 |
| 1954 | 96 | #996 | 0.05 |
| 1953 | 101 | #941 | 0.05 |
| 1952 | 99 | #931 | 0.05 |
| 1951 | 113 | #842 | 0.06 |
| 1950 | 102 | #879 | 0.06 |
| 1949 | 115 | #817 | 0.07 |
| 1948 | 139 | #711 | 0.08 |
| 1947 | 142 | #713 | 0.08 |
| 1946 | 140 | #676 | 0.09 |
| 1945 | 128 | #649 | 0.10 |
| 1944 | 113 | #707 | 0.09 |
| 1943 | 148 | #623 | 0.11 |
| 1942 | 140 | #636 | 0.10 |
| 1941 | 145 | #582 | 0.12 |
| 1940 | 141 | #586 | 0.12 |
| 1939 | 148 | #549 | 0.13 |
| 1938 | 167 | #523 | 0.15 |
| 1937 | 171 | #504 | 0.16 |
| 1936 | 168 | #499 | 0.16 |
| 1935 | 167 | #489 | 0.16 |
| 1934 | 191 | #466 | 0.18 |
| 1933 | 174 | #483 | 0.17 |
| 1932 | 206 | #456 | 0.19 |
| 1931 | 196 | #462 | 0.18 |
| 1930 | 245 | #424 | 0.22 |
| 1929 | 240 | #429 | 0.21 |
| 1928 | 239 | #440 | 0.21 |
| 1927 | 278 | #412 | 0.23 |
| 1926 | 254 | #434 | 0.21 |
| 1925 | 318 | #381 | 0.26 |
| 1924 | 315 | #384 | 0.25 |
| 1923 | 319 | #372 | 0.26 |
| 1922 | 296 | #379 | 0.25 |
| 1921 | 346 | #355 | 0.28 |
| 1920 | 325 | #365 | 0.27 |
| 1919 | 375 | #327 | 0.33 |
| 1918 | 361 | #342 | 0.31 |
| 1917 | 334 | #342 | 0.31 |
| 1916 | 382 | #310 | 0.37 |
| 1915 | 321 | #333 | 0.33 |
| 1914 | 336 | #288 | 0.44 |
| 1913 | 245 | #303 | 0.39 |
| 1912 | 246 | #290 | 0.44 |
| 1911 | 220 | #261 | 0.53 |
| 1910 | 208 | #267 | 0.52 |
| 1909 | 156 | #289 | 0.45 |
| 1908 | 181 | #262 | 0.54 |
| 1907 | 186 | #252 | 0.58 |
| 1906 | 155 | #264 | 0.52 |
| 1905 | 168 | #249 | 0.58 |
| 1904 | 175 | #233 | 0.64 |
| 1903 | 145 | #254 | 0.55 |
| 1902 | 164 | #236 | 0.62 |
| 1901 | 132 | #253 | 0.55 |
| 1900 | 176 | #243 | 0.59 |
| 1899 | 101 | #295 | 0.43 |
| 1898 | 140 | #252 | 0.54 |
| 1897 | 101 | #282 | 0.43 |
| 1896 | 120 | #262 | 0.50 |
| 1895 | 133 | #240 | 0.57 |
| 1894 | 78 | #315 | 0.35 |
| 1893 | 96 | #273 | 0.45 |
| 1892 | 98 | #267 | 0.46 |
| 1891 | 64 | #315 | 0.35 |
| 1890 | 79 | #283 | 0.41 |
| 1889 | 74 | #278 | 0.41 |
| 1888 | 69 | #281 | 0.39 |
| 1887 | 67 | #256 | 0.46 |
| 1886 | 63 | #264 | 0.44 |
| 1885 | 38 | #334 | 0.29 |
| 1884 | 45 | #287 | 0.35 |
| 1883 | 32 | #316 | 0.28 |
| 1882 | 25 | #354 | 0.23 |
| 1881 | 18 | #402 | 0.20 |
| 1880 | 18 | #396 | 0.20 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Lessie a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 15,018 Americans recorded as Lessie, 94% are girls and 6% boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Lessie: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Lessie, and how old are they?
2,970 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 20% of the 15,018 Americans ever recorded as Lessie. The median Lessie alive today is 74 years old; half are between 63 and 83.
The 2020 Census counted 2,876 people named Lessie (2,674 women and girls, 202 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 3,921 born in the U.S. The Census count is 27% 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 | 872 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,400 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 393 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 204 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 58 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 7 |
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 Lessie born?
The states with the most babies named Lessie are North Carolina, Georgia and Alabama, with 42% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Alabama is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | 1,623 | not ranked | 4.0× |
| Georgia | 1,231 | not ranked | 3.2× |
| Alabama | 1,095 | not ranked | 3.3× |
| Mississippi | 1,090 | not ranked | 4.4× |
| South Carolina | 883 | not ranked | 3.5× |
| Louisiana | 836 | not ranked | 3.2× |
| Texas | 821 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Florida | 430 | not ranked | 2.3× |
| Virginia | 392 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Arkansas | 391 | not ranked | 1.9× |
Where Lessie is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Lessie is most over-represented in Mississippi: since 1910 it was given 4.4 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 Lessie with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 5 names spelled alike, given to 19,553 babies since 1880, Lessie is the most given (77% of them).
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 Lessie
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 Lessie and names like it
- Compare Lessie and LesiaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1910sLessie peaked in 1916.
- North Carolina’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Lessie since 1910.
- The top names of 1916The year the most babies were named Lessie.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Lessie alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with LMost given first.