Unisex name · since 2004
Ness
96 babies named Ness in U.S. Social Security records since 2004, with the highest year being 2018. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #17,709 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #9,380 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 96
- born since 2004
- 2020s
- peak decade
Yes -- Ness is the #9380 most popular unisex name in the U.S. today, with 96 recorded since 2004.
Social Security Administration records show Ness recorded 96 times among boys since 2004, holding rank #9380 nationally today, ahead of 33% of boys, peaking in the 2020s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 2004 to 2025.
- #17,709 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #9,380 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 96 born since 2004
- 2020s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Ness ranks #17,709 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #9,380 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 96 born since 2004, peaking in the 2020s.
- #17,709 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #9,380 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 96
- born since 2004
- 2020s
- peak decade
Ness's 96 recorded births place it above 61% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
No state rows cleared SSA’s public reporting threshold for this name.
How Ness compares
96 25th percentile among 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
Ness's all-time total is 74% below the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Ness | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 96 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 13 | 34 | 22,252 |
Ness's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Ness's full recorded timeline at 2019, 54% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 46% in the earlier half -- a fairly even split across the full record. Its quietest year on record was 2014, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 2018 peak of 13 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Ness popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2004–2025
- Peak year (2018)
- 13
- Annual births at peak, across 22 years of records
Ness popularity over time - girls
8 total births recorded since 2025 (Ness as girls' name)
Ness by decade
2020s is the heaviest window (47 births, 49% of the file).
2020s was Ness's strongest decade.
47 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 49% of all-time use.
Ness births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 2000s 6
2000s
6 births
- 2010s
2010s
43 births
- 2020s
2020s
47 births
What this shows Peak: 2020s at 47 births (49% of all-time use).
Frequently Asked Questions
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Keep exploring Ness
Nearby Names Like Ness
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Ness
Compare Ness side by side: Ness vs Nestor Ness vs Nesanel Ness vs Nessiah
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Ness
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Ness: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2018)
Similar record span (~21 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, 2004–2025 (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 Ness 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.