9BabyNames Baby names with meanings & US popularity data

Bess

Pronunciation
[Bess]
Gender
Female
Meaning
Diminutive Of Elizabeth.
Origin
English

Bess Popularity Snapshot

Across the entire US Social Security Administration record (1880–2024), 7,166 baby girls have been named Bess. The name peaked in 1889 with 182 US births that year (rank #164).

Top States for Bess

Based on 1910–2024 US SSA state-level records, the three states with the most Bess births are: New York (213), Texas (201), Illinois (117).

Other English-Origin Names Like Bess

If you like Bess's English origin, consider these related names: Aaric, Aarika, Aarshiya, Aase, Aasiya. Browse all English names →

4-Letter Names Starting with B

Names with Bess's exact length and starting letter: Baal, Babu, Badr, Badu, Baen.

Quick Facts About Bess

5,642
English baby names in our dictionary
2,251
English female names
91
4-letter B-names in our dictionary
402
B-female names total
Not in registry
US SSA records — name appears fewer than 5 times in any year

Variant Forms

NameMeaningGenderOrigin
Bessie Diminutive Of Elizabeth. Female English

Looking for names like Bess?

A dedicated page with 60+ related names — spelling variants, rhymes, alliterations, same-origin matches, and shared meaning concepts — lives at its own URL so each kind of similarity gets a deeper treatment than fits here.

See all names like Bess →

Compare Bess to Other Popular Names

Side-by-side popularity charts and crossover years for Bess against today's most popular girls-name peers (top 8 by US births in the last 10 years of SSA records).

Compare to a different name →

Bess Baby Name Ideas