Tess
Tess was given to 113 girls in 2025, #1,794 among girls’ names; 14,770 Americans have been recorded with it since 1889 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 14,000 Americans named Tess and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (95% of everyone recorded); the median is 26 years old and half are between 18 and 34.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Tess by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Tess mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Tess is “a diminutive of the female given name Teresa.”
/tɛs/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Tess?
#1,794 among girls’ names, 2025
Tess fell from #1,120 in 2015 to #1,794 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 0.13 to 0.07 per 1,000.
529 babies in 1992, the peak
Tess peaked in 1992, when 529 girls were given it, #467 among girls’ names. The 113 births of 2025 are 21% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 113 | #1,794 | 0.07 |
| 2024 | 115 | #1,768 | 0.07 |
| 2023 | 117 | #1,761 | 0.07 |
| 2022 | 107 | #1,897 | 0.07 |
| 2021 | 142 | #1,496 | 0.09 |
| 2020 | 175 | #1,281 | 0.11 |
| 2019 | 158 | #1,421 | 0.09 |
| 2018 | 176 | #1,298 | 0.10 |
| 2017 | 203 | #1,199 | 0.12 |
| 2016 | 217 | #1,163 | 0.12 |
Every recorded year (123)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 229 | #1,120 | 0.13 |
| 2014 | 235 | #1,090 | 0.13 |
| 2013 | 251 | #999 | 0.14 |
| 2012 | 255 | #993 | 0.14 |
| 2011 | 283 | #921 | 0.16 |
| 2010 | 338 | #810 | 0.19 |
| 2009 | 342 | #826 | 0.19 |
| 2008 | 322 | #867 | 0.17 |
| 2007 | 311 | #892 | 0.16 |
| 2006 | 385 | #730 | 0.20 |
| 2005 | 461 | #613 | 0.25 |
| 2004 | 424 | #647 | 0.23 |
| 2003 | 494 | #566 | 0.27 |
| 2002 | 417 | #614 | 0.23 |
| 2001 | 393 | #642 | 0.22 |
| 2000 | 475 | #551 | 0.26 |
| 1999 | 437 | #573 | 0.25 |
| 1998 | 430 | #572 | 0.24 |
| 1997 | 448 | #533 | 0.26 |
| 1996 | 409 | #569 | 0.23 |
| 1995 | 435 | #547 | 0.25 |
| 1994 | 478 | #522 | 0.27 |
| 1993 | 524 | #481 | 0.29 |
| 1992 | 529 | #467 | 0.29 |
| 1991 | 465 | #507 | 0.25 |
| 1990 | 404 | #573 | 0.21 |
| 1989 | 270 | #732 | 0.15 |
| 1988 | 183 | #929 | 0.10 |
| 1987 | 185 | #904 | 0.11 |
| 1986 | 194 | #855 | 0.11 |
| 1985 | 218 | #778 | 0.13 |
| 1984 | 216 | #753 | 0.13 |
| 1983 | 191 | #813 | 0.11 |
| 1982 | 133 | #1,077 | 0.08 |
| 1981 | 104 | #1,252 | 0.06 |
| 1980 | 13 | #5,521 | 0.01 |
| 1979 | 13 | #5,395 | 0.01 |
| 1978 | 28 | #2,933 | 0.02 |
| 1977 | 20 | #3,747 | 0.01 |
| 1976 | 38 | #2,251 | 0.03 |
| 1975 | 32 | #2,506 | 0.02 |
| 1974 | 29 | #2,608 | 0.02 |
| 1973 | 40 | #2,061 | 0.03 |
| 1972 | 49 | #1,784 | 0.03 |
| 1971 | 80 | #1,348 | 0.05 |
| 1970 | 94 | #1,207 | 0.05 |
| 1969 | 92 | #1,166 | 0.05 |
| 1968 | 79 | #1,235 | 0.05 |
| 1967 | 50 | #1,616 | 0.03 |
| 1966 | 16 | #3,260 | 0.01 |
| 1965 | 14 | #3,530 | 0.01 |
| 1964 | 21 | #2,815 | 0.01 |
| 1963 | 27 | #2,357 | 0.01 |
| 1962 | 19 | #2,909 | 0.01 |
| 1961 | 20 | #2,825 | 0.01 |
| 1960 | 23 | #2,568 | 0.01 |
| 1959 | 17 | #2,971 | 0.01 |
| 1958 | 13 | #3,529 | 0.01 |
| 1957 | 10 | #4,183 | under 0.01 |
| 1956 | 6 | #5,902 | under 0.01 |
| 1955 | 16 | #2,955 | 0.01 |
| 1954 | 9 | #4,242 | under 0.01 |
| 1953 | 6 | #5,616 | under 0.01 |
| 1951 | 6 | #5,351 | under 0.01 |
| 1950 | 6 | #5,243 | under 0.01 |
| 1949 | 5 | #5,978 | under 0.01 |
| 1948 | 5 | #5,966 | under 0.01 |
| 1947 | 5 | #6,046 | under 0.01 |
| 1945 | 9 | #3,362 | 0.01 |
| 1943 | 5 | #5,307 | under 0.01 |
| 1942 | 6 | #4,591 | under 0.01 |
| 1941 | 5 | #5,017 | under 0.01 |
| 1940 | 6 | #4,293 | 0.01 |
| 1939 | 5 | #4,879 | under 0.01 |
| 1936 | 5 | #4,792 | under 0.01 |
| 1934 | 8 | #3,416 | 0.01 |
| 1933 | 8 | #3,379 | 0.01 |
| 1932 | 5 | #5,016 | under 0.01 |
| 1930 | 6 | #4,505 | 0.01 |
| 1929 | 9 | #3,366 | 0.01 |
| 1927 | 11 | #3,030 | 0.01 |
| 1926 | 7 | #4,261 | 0.01 |
| 1925 | 21 | #1,937 | 0.02 |
| 1924 | 15 | #2,502 | 0.01 |
| 1923 | 11 | #3,101 | 0.01 |
| 1922 | 16 | #2,373 | 0.01 |
| 1921 | 19 | #2,108 | 0.02 |
| 1920 | 19 | #2,068 | 0.02 |
| 1919 | 29 | #1,479 | 0.03 |
| 1918 | 18 | #2,093 | 0.02 |
| 1917 | 19 | #1,912 | 0.02 |
| 1916 | 24 | #1,576 | 0.02 |
| 1915 | 13 | #2,368 | 0.01 |
| 1914 | 17 | #1,654 | 0.02 |
| 1913 | 7 | #2,786 | 0.01 |
| 1912 | 11 | #1,824 | 0.02 |
| 1911 | 11 | #1,534 | 0.03 |
| 1910 | 6 | #2,375 | 0.02 |
| 1909 | 13 | #1,207 | 0.04 |
| 1908 | 7 | #1,838 | 0.02 |
| 1907 | 10 | #1,366 | 0.03 |
| 1906 | 6 | #1,930 | 0.02 |
| 1905 | 13 | #1,091 | 0.04 |
| 1904 | 10 | #1,241 | 0.04 |
| 1903 | 7 | #1,577 | 0.03 |
| 1901 | 6 | #1,653 | 0.03 |
| 1900 | 11 | #1,218 | 0.04 |
| 1899 | 9 | #1,172 | 0.04 |
| 1898 | 9 | #1,252 | 0.03 |
| 1897 | 9 | #1,158 | 0.04 |
| 1896 | 5 | #1,796 | 0.02 |
| 1895 | 6 | #1,572 | 0.03 |
| 1889 | 6 | #1,260 | 0.03 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Tess a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Tess has been recorded only for girls: SSA lists no boys with the name in 123 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Tess: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Tess, and how old are they?
14,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 95% of the 14,770 Americans ever recorded as Tess. The median Tess alive today is 26 years old; half are between 18 and 34.
The 2020 Census counted 14,814 people named Tess (14,755 women and girls, 59 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 13,395 born in the U.S. The Census count is 11% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 23 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 175 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 635 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 4,820 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 6,150 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 2,220 |
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 Tess born?
The states with the most babies named Tess are California, Texas and New York, with 42% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 14 | #1,644 | 0.8× |
| Texas | 9 | #2,375 | 0.5× |
| New York | 8 | #1,643 | 1.0× |
| Massachusetts | 8 | #679 | 2.2× |
| Illinois | 7 | #1,229 | 1.1× |
| Wisconsin | 6 | #780 | 1.2× |
| Virginia | 6 | #1,172 | 0.7× |
| Pennsylvania | 5 | #1,611 | 0.9× |
| Ohio | 5 | #1,679 | 0.8× |
| Utah | 5 | #826 | 2.1× |
Where Tess is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Tess is most over-represented in Massachusetts: since 1910 it was given 2.2 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 Tess 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 Tess
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 Tess and names like it
- Compare Tess and LorynBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1990sTess peaked in 1992.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Tess since 1910.
- The top names of 1992The year the most babies were named Tess.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Tess alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with TMost given first.