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Girl · Hebrew, through English pet forms
Bessie
Say it: BESS-ee
Meaning
Pet form of Elizabeth.
Certainscholars agree on this meaning.
Common in the late 19th century as a given name in its own right.
Its wave through time
Fading since the 1880s
In the United States
- 170,807 babies given this name since 1880
- At its height in 1889, about 1 in 76 girls
- 16 babies in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Bessy
Famous bearers
- Bessie Smith, blues singer
- Bessie Coleman, aviator
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- National census records of the 19th and 20th centuries
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.