Bess

Girl name

Bess has been given to 7,176 babies in the U.S. since 1880. It peaked in 1889.

Meaning & origin /bɛs/

Variant of Beth, a clipping of Elizabeth.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Hover or tap the chart to read any year.

Total babies

7,176

Peak year

1889 (182 babies)

Rank in 2025

Below top 1000

First recorded

1880

10-year trend

▼ -17%

Gender split

100% girls / 0% boys

Names one letter away from Bess — alternate spellings parents actually use.

25,550 babies since 1880

14,770 babies since 1889

Same primary gender, peaked around the same years, and roughly as common as Bess.

6,211 babies since 1880

5,407 babies since 1880

12,709 babies since 1880

13,190 babies since 1880

How popular is the name Bess?

Bess has been given to 7,176 babies in the U.S. since 1880. It ranked below the top 1000 in 2025.

When did the name Bess peak?

Bess peaked in 1889, when 182 babies were given the name.

Is Bess a girl or boy name?

Bess is primarily a girl name (100% of babies named Bess are girls).

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