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BabyNames
Girl name#251 of girl names

Bessie

Pronounced B EH1 S IY0 (ARPABET)

  • 2 syllables
  • Peaked 1916
  • 145 years in use
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How popular is Bessie?

Bessie is a girls' name, and has been in the record since the data starts in 1880. It has been given to 171,189 children — the 251st most common girls' name on record.

It is still recorded, but barely: 185 births across the past decade, against a peak of 4,122 in a single year. That peak was in 1916.

01,2502,5003,7505,00018901920195019802010
1916Girls: 4,122Boys: 10

Characteristics

  • 2 syllables
Phonetic detail
Pronunciations:
B EH1 S IY0
Stress pattern:
10
Syllables:
2

Stress digits mark unstressed (0), primary (1) and secondary (2) syllables.

Names like Bessie

Same first letter and syllable count, peaking around the same time.

Sibling names for Bessie

Names from the same era with a matching rhythm but a different initial.

Frequently asked questions

How popular is the name Bessie?
Bessie ranks 251st among girls' names in US records, with 171,189 births since 1880. Over the past decade it accounts for 185.
Is Bessie a unisex name?
No. Bessie is recorded almost entirely as a girls' name; births to the other gender are too few to register as a share.
When was Bessie most popular?
1916, when 4,122 children were given the name. It has been in use for 145 years and is still recorded as of 2024.