Nameling

Bessie

Gender
Girl
Say it
BES-ee
Origin
Hebrew
UK rank, 2025
#1,961 for girls
US rank, 2025
#6,837 for girls

Bessie is a girls' name of Hebrew origin, meaning “my God is an oath”. In 2025 it ranked 1,961st for girls in the UK (15 babies) and 6,837th for girls in the US (16 babies).

What does Bessie mean?

Hebrew: pet form of Elizabeth

“my God is an oath”

A traditional pet form of Elizabeth; Elizabeth I was known as Good Queen Bess.

More on Wiktionary.

Is Bessie a girl's or a boy's name?

Bessie is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 15 girls in the UK and 16 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.

How popular is Bessie in the UK?

Rank in 2025
#1,961among girls
Babies in 2025
15about 1 in 19,000 girls
Five-year trend
Fallingdown 29% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1%chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 15 girls in the UK were named Bessie, making it the 1,961st most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,180th. Its busiest year was 2014, with 32 girls.

It has been given to fewer girls each year for the last 5 years. 2025 had fewer girls named Bessie than any year since 2019.

Half of all the girls named Bessie in the UK since 1996 were born between 2009 and 2020, the years shaded on the chart below.

Among girls in 2025, it was 1,892nd in England and Wales.

In the England and Wales top 100 for girls, which the ONS has published every ten years since 1904: 1904 (#69) and 1914 (#74).

1996Busiest: 32 in 20142025
Bessie in the UK, year by year
YearGirlsRank
202515#1,961
202417#1,803
202319#1,666
202222#1,485
202123#1,448
202030#1,180
201915#1,958
201827#1,298
201717#1,833
201617#1,853
201526#1,353
201432#1,149
201315#1,964
201229#1,232
201125#1,335
201019#1,635
200927#1,212
200821#1,443
200714#1,874
20068#2,657
200511#2,061
20047#2,669
20030–
20025#3,047
20016#2,587
20004#3,399
19996#2,559
19980–
19973#3,991
19965#2,815

How popular is Bessie in the US?

Rank in 2025
#6,837among girls
Babies in 2025
16about 1 in 100,000 girls
Five-year trend
Too rare to calltoo few babies to tell
Same name in a class
under 1%chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 16 girls in the US were named Bessie, making it the 6,837th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 6,919th. Its busiest year was 1916, with 4,122 girls.

Half of all the girls named Bessie in the US since 1880 were born between 1900 and 1929, the years shaded on the chart below.

1880Busiest: 4,122 in 19162025
Bessie in the US, year by year
YearGirlsRank
202516#6,837
202410#9,551
202315#7,242
202213#8,027
202117#6,686
202016#6,919
201911#9,106
20189#10,540
201712#8,772
20168#11,776
201511#9,476
201411#9,512
201317#7,027
201213#8,628
20119#11,175
20108#12,270
20099#11,454
200815#8,105
200715#8,094
200619#6,590
200515#7,495
20047#12,754
200315#7,202
200228#4,377
200126#4,559
200031#3,978
199921#5,033
199827#4,139
199732#3,544
199630#3,627
199526#3,964
199437#3,093
199324#4,252
199251#2,483
199165#2,067
199073#1,901
198960#2,067
198853#2,147
198759#1,917
198666#1,750
198585#1,457
198468#1,616
198367#1,644
198289#1,374
1981103#1,253
198099#1,286
1979102#1,251
197891#1,314
197792#1,283
1976106#1,122
1975131#957
1974116#1,033
1973120#990
1972149#863
1971140#927
1970160#844
1969156#823
1968159#794
1967186#716
1966202#686
1965273#579
1964290#581
1963293#574
1962330#536
1961318#557
1960385#493
1959396#486
1958443#451
1957465#434
1956518#395
1955533#380
1954652#331
1953650#322
1952729#297
1951762#284
1950794#270
1949946#241
1948998#236
19471,012#233
19461,022#225
19451,075#190
19441,122#189
19431,148#190
19421,266#176
19411,176#173
19401,297#162
19391,361#158
19381,419#155
19371,550#143
19361,645#136
19351,756#129
19341,832#128
19331,881#117
19322,093#117
19312,116#113
19302,382#108
19292,380#107
19282,661#101
19272,975#88
19263,054#89
19253,266#87
19243,404#86
19233,387#81
19223,447#81
19213,678#75
19203,906#71
19194,106#59
19184,101#61
19173,927#61
19164,122#56
19153,888#57
19143,260#55
19132,952#47
19122,832#43
19112,279#40
19102,392#37
19092,276#35
19082,201#34
19072,311#30
19062,396#21
19052,446#20
19042,340#21
19032,339#21
19022,448#19
19012,183#21
19003,044#15
18992,280#19
18982,647#16
18972,407#17
18962,435#18
18952,542#15
18942,520#13
18932,352#15
18922,541#13
18912,323#12
18902,370#11
18892,343#9
18882,278#10
18871,838#13
18861,791#12
18851,588#13
18841,451#15
18831,241#18
18821,144#18
1881903#22
1880796#23

Nicknames for Bessie

Names like Bessie

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Elsie Annie Nellie Lottie Florence Beatrice Bonnie Rosie Jessie Winnie Eva Frankie

Names related to Bessie

Bess Bessy

More Hebrew names

Noah Isabella Elijah James Jack Mia Ava Jude Ezra Benjamin Isaac Jacob Ethan Daniel Samuel Elias

Every Hebrew name

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.

To cite this page: Nameling, “Bessie: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/bessie, updated 20 October 2026.