Unisex name · since 1880
Lessie
Lessie has 14,073 recorded births since 1880 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1916 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #1,343 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- 14,073
- born since 1880
- 1910s
- peak decade
Lessie is not among the current top-ranked girls names; 14,073 have been recorded since 1880.
Lessie has 14,073 recorded births among girls since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, though it falls outside today's most-used girls names, 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 2023.
- #1,343 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- 14,073 born since 1880
- 1910s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Lessie ranks #1,343 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first). 14,073 born since 1880, peaking in the 1910s.
- #1,343 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- 14,073
- born since 1880
- 1910s
- peak decade
Lessie's 14,073 recorded births place it above 98.14% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
17 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by North Carolina.
Lessie's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Lessie splits its recorded history at 1943: 20% of all births land in the more recent half, 80% in the earlier half, leaning more toward its earlier era than today's. The single quietest year was 1997 (5 births) -- compare that against the 1916 peak of 382 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Lessie popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2023
- Peak year (1916)
- 382
- Annual births at peak, across 144 years of records
Lessie popularity over time - boys
945 total births recorded since 1883 (Lessie as boys' name)
Lessie by decade
1910s is the heaviest window (3,028 births, 22% of the file).
1910s was Lessie's strongest decade.
3,028 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 22% of all-time use.
Lessie births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 449
1880s
449 births
- 1890s 1,010
1890s
1,010 births
- 1900s
1900s
1,638 births
- 1910s
1910s
3,028 births
- 1920s
1920s
2,930 births
- 1930s
1930s
1,833 births
- 1940s
1940s
1,351 births
- 1950s 890
1950s
890 births
- 1960s 469
1960s
469 births
- 1970s 187
1970s
187 births
- 1980s 159
1980s
159 births
- 1990s 84
1990s
84 births
- 2000s 38
2000s
38 births
- 2020s 7
2020s
7 births
What this shows Peak: 1910s at 3,028 births (22% of all-time use).
How Lessie 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 Lessie's total volume
Lessie by state
Where Lessie concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | North Carolina | | 1,570 | 11.2% |
| #2 | Georgia | | 1,224 | 8.7% |
| #3 | Alabama | | 1,075 | 7.6% |
| #4 | Mississippi | | 1,020 | 7.2% |
| #5 | South Carolina | | 883 | 6.3% |
| #6 | Louisiana | | 836 | 5.9% |
| #7 | Texas | | 793 | 5.6% |
| #8 | Florida | | 430 | 3.1% |
1,570 of 14,073 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 17 reporting states.
Lessie appears in 17 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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What to do with Lessie's data
- Lessie's decade-level peak was the 1910s (3,028 total births); usage has since declined to 7 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- North Carolina records the most Lessies (1,570 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. North Carolina names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Lessie
Nearby Names Like Lessie
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Lessie
Compare Lessie side by side: Lessie vs Leslie Lessie vs Lesley Lessie vs Lesly
Related Names
Names with a similar number of total births
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Lessie: 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 (~143 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, 1880–2023 (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 Lessie 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.