first name
TESS
of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census
Of the 14,814 people named Tess, 82.3% reported their origin as White, 5.2% as Hispanic or Latino and 4.8% as Asian or Pacific Islander. Virtually all are female (99.6%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.
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Tess peaked in 1992, when 529 babies got the name.
At least 14,770 babies have been given the name since 1889. 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.
Tess by decade
Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1990s, when it ranked #1,012. The largest share of babies named Tess, 42.1%, were born between 1997 and 2012, as Generation Z.
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 Tess is most common
Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Tess has been most common in Utah (4.1×), Massachusetts (2.8×), and Colorado (2.3×), and least common in Kentucky (0.15×).
11,090 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 Tess
Spelled almost the same
6 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Tess, most common first.
Also a last name
As a last name, Tess ranks #40,393 of 156,621, with 585 people. See Tess as a last name
Compare
🔎 TESS 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦⬜⬜ 1 in 20,388 Americans Rarer than 77.6% of us Peaked in 1992 with 529 babies Beat that 👇 https://howrareismy.name/first/tess/