Tessie
Tessie was given to 8 girls in 2025, #11,831 among girls’ names; 9,991 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 2,700 Americans named Tessie and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (27% of everyone recorded); the median is 55 years old and half are between 41 and 68.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Tessie by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Tessie mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Tessie is “a diminutive of the female given names Teresita and Teresa, from Spanish.”
From Tess + -ie.
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Tessie?
#11,831 among girls’ names, 2025
Tessie fell from #10,089 in 2015 to #11,831 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 6.2 to 5.0 per million.
393 babies in 1917, the peak
Tessie peaked in 1917, when 393 girls were given it, #311 among girls’ names. The 8 births of 2025 are 2% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 8 | #11,831 | under 0.01 |
| 2024 | 11 | #9,501 | 0.01 |
| 2023 | 8 | #12,085 | under 0.01 |
| 2022 | 5 | #17,523 | under 0.01 |
| 2021 | 12 | #8,927 | 0.01 |
| 2020 | 11 | #9,481 | 0.01 |
| 2019 | 7 | #13,680 | under 0.01 |
| 2018 | 11 | #9,759 | 0.01 |
| 2017 | 7 | #13,985 | under 0.01 |
| 2016 | 19 | #6,641 | 0.01 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 11 | #10,089 | 0.01 |
| 2014 | 18 | #6,959 | 0.01 |
| 2013 | 9 | #11,879 | 0.01 |
| 2012 | 12 | #9,667 | 0.01 |
| 2011 | 9 | #12,053 | 0.01 |
| 2010 | 15 | #8,244 | 0.01 |
| 2009 | 19 | #7,034 | 0.01 |
| 2008 | 16 | #8,075 | 0.01 |
| 2007 | 15 | #8,480 | 0.01 |
| 2006 | 14 | #8,679 | 0.01 |
| 2005 | 14 | #8,290 | 0.01 |
| 2004 | 14 | #8,209 | 0.01 |
| 2003 | 13 | #8,450 | 0.01 |
| 2002 | 18 | #6,363 | 0.01 |
| 2001 | 9 | #10,948 | under 0.01 |
| 2000 | 11 | #9,113 | 0.01 |
| 1999 | 13 | #7,675 | 0.01 |
| 1998 | 18 | #5,780 | 0.01 |
| 1997 | 19 | #5,398 | 0.01 |
| 1996 | 17 | #5,751 | 0.01 |
| 1995 | 23 | #4,502 | 0.01 |
| 1994 | 29 | #3,780 | 0.02 |
| 1993 | 31 | #3,573 | 0.02 |
| 1992 | 22 | #4,666 | 0.01 |
| 1991 | 33 | #3,356 | 0.02 |
| 1990 | 27 | #3,896 | 0.01 |
| 1989 | 23 | #4,235 | 0.01 |
| 1988 | 32 | #3,152 | 0.02 |
| 1987 | 36 | #2,773 | 0.02 |
| 1986 | 33 | #2,900 | 0.02 |
| 1985 | 39 | #2,541 | 0.02 |
| 1984 | 40 | #2,415 | 0.02 |
| 1983 | 42 | #2,305 | 0.03 |
| 1982 | 55 | #1,947 | 0.03 |
| 1981 | 61 | #1,829 | 0.04 |
| 1980 | 47 | #2,184 | 0.03 |
| 1979 | 52 | #1,996 | 0.03 |
| 1978 | 33 | #2,623 | 0.02 |
| 1977 | 55 | #1,855 | 0.04 |
| 1976 | 51 | #1,837 | 0.03 |
| 1975 | 42 | #2,094 | 0.03 |
| 1974 | 38 | #2,169 | 0.03 |
| 1973 | 65 | #1,476 | 0.04 |
| 1972 | 66 | #1,469 | 0.04 |
| 1971 | 73 | #1,443 | 0.04 |
| 1970 | 73 | #1,429 | 0.04 |
| 1969 | 63 | #1,496 | 0.04 |
| 1968 | 77 | #1,257 | 0.05 |
| 1967 | 68 | #1,335 | 0.04 |
| 1966 | 49 | #1,619 | 0.03 |
| 1965 | 64 | #1,388 | 0.04 |
| 1964 | 69 | #1,359 | 0.04 |
| 1963 | 43 | #1,785 | 0.02 |
| 1962 | 53 | #1,556 | 0.03 |
| 1961 | 57 | #1,496 | 0.03 |
| 1960 | 61 | #1,415 | 0.03 |
| 1959 | 48 | #1,582 | 0.02 |
| 1958 | 46 | #1,585 | 0.02 |
| 1957 | 48 | #1,568 | 0.02 |
| 1956 | 35 | #1,832 | 0.02 |
| 1955 | 46 | #1,510 | 0.02 |
| 1954 | 40 | #1,621 | 0.02 |
| 1953 | 27 | #2,012 | 0.01 |
| 1952 | 36 | #1,634 | 0.02 |
| 1951 | 37 | #1,580 | 0.02 |
| 1950 | 39 | #1,492 | 0.02 |
| 1949 | 45 | #1,391 | 0.03 |
| 1948 | 45 | #1,382 | 0.03 |
| 1947 | 53 | #1,252 | 0.03 |
| 1946 | 35 | #1,505 | 0.02 |
| 1945 | 37 | #1,329 | 0.03 |
| 1944 | 38 | #1,309 | 0.03 |
| 1943 | 42 | #1,272 | 0.03 |
| 1942 | 43 | #1,227 | 0.03 |
| 1941 | 40 | #1,205 | 0.03 |
| 1940 | 41 | #1,147 | 0.04 |
| 1939 | 45 | #1,076 | 0.04 |
| 1938 | 40 | #1,158 | 0.04 |
| 1937 | 43 | #1,094 | 0.04 |
| 1936 | 48 | #1,002 | 0.05 |
| 1935 | 70 | #821 | 0.07 |
| 1934 | 71 | #803 | 0.07 |
| 1933 | 78 | #750 | 0.08 |
| 1932 | 94 | #702 | 0.09 |
| 1931 | 76 | #773 | 0.07 |
| 1930 | 102 | #684 | 0.09 |
| 1929 | 132 | #596 | 0.12 |
| 1928 | 128 | #624 | 0.11 |
| 1927 | 149 | #580 | 0.12 |
| 1926 | 190 | #508 | 0.16 |
| 1925 | 191 | #509 | 0.16 |
| 1924 | 201 | #494 | 0.16 |
| 1923 | 235 | #444 | 0.19 |
| 1922 | 251 | #416 | 0.21 |
| 1921 | 293 | #394 | 0.24 |
| 1920 | 313 | #372 | 0.26 |
| 1919 | 357 | #336 | 0.32 |
| 1918 | 360 | #343 | 0.31 |
| 1917 | 393 | #311 | 0.36 |
| 1916 | 340 | #331 | 0.33 |
| 1915 | 292 | #346 | 0.30 |
| 1914 | 230 | #346 | 0.30 |
| 1913 | 187 | #354 | 0.30 |
| 1912 | 170 | #351 | 0.30 |
| 1911 | 136 | #341 | 0.33 |
| 1910 | 118 | #363 | 0.30 |
| 1909 | 100 | #367 | 0.29 |
| 1908 | 117 | #328 | 0.35 |
| 1907 | 94 | #365 | 0.30 |
| 1906 | 88 | #358 | 0.30 |
| 1905 | 85 | #371 | 0.29 |
| 1904 | 101 | #326 | 0.37 |
| 1903 | 68 | #387 | 0.26 |
| 1902 | 63 | #394 | 0.24 |
| 1901 | 67 | #369 | 0.28 |
| 1900 | 94 | #344 | 0.31 |
| 1899 | 66 | #360 | 0.28 |
| 1898 | 66 | #384 | 0.26 |
| 1897 | 60 | #375 | 0.26 |
| 1896 | 68 | #354 | 0.29 |
| 1895 | 61 | #362 | 0.26 |
| 1894 | 55 | #380 | 0.25 |
| 1893 | 61 | #349 | 0.29 |
| 1892 | 54 | #364 | 0.25 |
| 1891 | 57 | #337 | 0.31 |
| 1890 | 47 | #368 | 0.25 |
| 1889 | 45 | #360 | 0.25 |
| 1888 | 44 | #365 | 0.25 |
| 1887 | 32 | #389 | 0.22 |
| 1886 | 24 | #449 | 0.17 |
| 1885 | 19 | #498 | 0.14 |
| 1884 | 26 | #397 | 0.20 |
| 1883 | 9 | #689 | 0.08 |
| 1882 | 19 | #430 | 0.18 |
| 1881 | 12 | #502 | 0.13 |
| 1880 | 17 | #419 | 0.19 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Tessie a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Tessie has been given almost only to girls: 10 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Tessie: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Tessie, and how old are they?
2,700 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 27% of the 9,991 Americans ever recorded as Tessie. The median Tessie alive today is 55 years old; half are between 41 and 68.
The 2020 Census counted 3,292 people named Tessie (3,268 women and girls, 24 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 3,058 born in the U.S. The Census count is 8% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 264 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 675 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 847 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 527 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 226 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 136 |
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 Tessie born?
The states with the most babies named Tessie are New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, with 55% of its births recorded by state since 1910; New Jersey is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 1,516 | not ranked | 2.0× |
| New Jersey | 606 | not ranked | 2.4× |
| Pennsylvania | 478 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Texas | 306 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Louisiana | 289 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| North Carolina | 238 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Alabama | 195 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Illinois | 181 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| California | 146 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| Georgia | 137 | not ranked | 0.5× |
Where Tessie is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Tessie is most over-represented in New Jersey: since 1910 it was given 2.4 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 Tessie 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 8 names spelled alike, given to 68,633 babies since 1880, Tessie is the second most given (15% of them). In 2025 it was given to 8 of their 991 babies (<1%), again the second most given.
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 Tessie
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 Tessie and names like it
- Compare Tessie and TessaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1910sTessie peaked in 1917.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Tessie since 1910.
- The top names of 1917The year the most babies were named Tessie.
- The names of Generation XMost people named Tessie alive today were born 1965-1980.
- Names starting with TMost given first.