first name
BESSIE
of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census
Of the 20,905 people named Bessie, 45.1% reported their origin as Black, 44% as White and 3.8% as Hispanic or Latino. Virtually all are female (99.8%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.
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Bessie peaked in 1916, when 4,132 babies got the name.
At least 170,877 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.
Bessie by decade
Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1890s, when it ranked #23. The largest share of babies named Bessie, 48.1%, were born between 1901 and 1927, the Greatest Generation's birth years.
Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.
Where Bessie is most common
Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Bessie has been most common in Mississippi (5.5×), Alabama (3.9×), and South Carolina (3.7×), and least common in California (0.13×).
102,986 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.
Either side of Bessie
Spelled almost the same
One first name in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Bessie, most common first.
Also a last name
As a last name, Bessie ranks #115,151 of 156,621, with 161 people. See Bessie as a last name
Compare
🔎 BESSIE 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦⬜⬜ 1 in 14,448 Americans Rarer than 75.6% of us Peaked in 1916 with 4,132 babies Beat that 👇 https://howrareismy.name/first/bessie/