Feminine dossier · first seen 1880
Bessie
Endangered
Down 99.6% from peak
Peak era
1916
Peak births
4,122
Current vitality
Rare
Peak generation
Greatest Generation
Quick answers about Bessie
How many people are named Bessie?
An estimated 12,991 living Americans are named Bessie.
How rare is Bessie?
Bessie is very rare among babies today, with 16 girls receiving the name in 2025, down 99.6% from its 1916 peak.
How old is the typical Bessie?
The median age of a living American named Bessie is approximately 72 years, with most bearers falling between 61 and 80 years old.
Is Bessie still popular?
No. Bessie is endangered as a baby name, down 99.6% from its 1916 peak with 16 births in 2025.
Where is Bessie most common?
Bessie has its strongest geographic signal in Mississippi, where it appears 8.3× more often than the national baseline.
1880Peak 19162025
Peak year
1916
Decline from peak
99.6%
2025
16
All-time
170,140
Where it lives now
Bessie is most concentrated in Mississippi — about 6.8× the national rate in the 1960s.
States where Bessie is given more often than the national average — its present-day heartland.