Girls' name · since 1889
Tess
14,770 babies named Tess in U.S. Social Security records since 1889, with the highest year being 1992. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #1,298 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,780 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 14,770
- born since 1889
- 1990s
- peak decade
Yes -- Tess is the #1780 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 14,770 recorded since 1889.
Social Security Administration records show Tess recorded 14,770 times among girls since 1889, holding rank #1780 nationally today, ahead of 90% of girls, peaking in the 1990s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1889 to 2025.
- #1,298 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #1,780 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 14,770 born since 1889
- 1990s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Tess ranks #1,298 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,780 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 14,770 born since 1889, peaking in the 1990s.
- #1,298 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,780 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 14,770
- born since 1889
- 1990s
- peak decade
Tess's 14,770 recorded births place it above 98.2% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
44 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Tess compares
14,770 Top 8% higher than 92% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls 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
Tess's all-time total is 39x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Tess | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 14,770 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 529 | 21 | 19,840 |
Tess's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Tess's full recorded timeline at 1964, 95% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 5% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1896, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1992 peak of 529 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Tess popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1889–2025
- Peak year (1992)
- 529
- Annual births at peak, across 137 years of records
Tess by decade
1990s is the heaviest window (4,559 births, 31% of the file).
1990s was Tess's strongest decade.
4,559 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 31% of all-time use.
Tess births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 6
1880s
6 births
- 1890s 38
1890s
38 births
- 1900s 83
1900s
83 births
- 1910s 155
1910s
155 births
- 1920s 128
1920s
128 births
- 1930s 37
1930s
37 births
- 1940s 46
1940s
46 births
- 1950s 89
1950s
89 births
- 1960s 361
1960s
361 births
- 1970s 423
1970s
423 births
- 1980s 1,707
1980s
1,707 births
- 1990s
1990s
4,559 births
- 2000s
2000s
4,024 births
- 2010s
2010s
2,345 births
- 2020s 769
2020s
769 births
What this shows Peak: 1990s at 4,559 births (31% of all-time use).
How Tess 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 Tess's total volume
Tess by state
Where Tess concentrates geographically, total births since 1889
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 1,496 | 10.1% |
| #2 | New York | | 1,022 | 6.9% |
| #3 | Massachusetts | | 758 | 5.1% |
| #4 | Illinois | | 741 | 5.0% |
| #5 | Texas | | 719 | 4.9% |
| #6 | Pennsylvania | | 572 | 3.9% |
| #7 | Ohio | | 494 | 3.3% |
| #8 | Michigan | | 405 | 2.7% |
1,496 of 14,770 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 44 reporting states.
Tess appears in 44 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Tess? ▼
Where does Tess sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Tess most popular? ▼
Where is Tess most popular? ▼
How long has the name Tess been used? ▼
What names are similar to Tess? ▼
What to do with Tess's data
- Tess's decade-level peak was the 1990s (4,559 total births); usage has since declined to 769 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Tesss (1,496 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Tess
Nearby Names Like Tess
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Tess
Compare Tess side by side: Tess vs Tessa Tess vs Tessie Tess vs Tesla
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Tess
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Tess: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1992)
Similar record span (~136 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, 1889–2025 (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 Tess 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.