girl's name
Bessie
BES-ee
- Origin Scottish
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Rare
- Births on record 171,343
Bessie is a girl's name meaning God is my oath, a pet form of Elizabeth. Our data marks it stable despite a peak more than a century old, and it charts higher in England and Wales than in the United States.
- Bessie is a name of Scottish origin.
- Peaked in 1916, when 4,132 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 207,211 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Bessie over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 15,431 |
| 1890s | 24,491 |
| 1900s | 24,077 |
| 1910s | 33,991 |
| 1920s | 32,347 |
| 1930s | 18,182 |
| 1940s | 11,101 |
| 1950s | 5,947 |
| 1960s | 2,592 |
| 1970s | 1,207 |
| 1980s | 749 |
| 1990s | 386 |
| 2000s | 180 |
| 2010s | 109 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 87 |
What Bessie means
Bessie means God is my oath, carried from Elizabeth. The Hebrew joins the divine name to a word for swearing an oath, and the pet form changes nothing about the sense.
Where Bessie comes from
Bessie is a Scottish and northern English pet form of Elizabeth, from the Hebrew Elisheva — el, God, joined to sheva, an oath, giving God is my oath. Elizabeth produced more nicknames than almost any other English name: Bess, Bessie, Betsy, Betty, Beth, Libby, Lisa, Eliza, Elsie and Buffy all descend from it. Bessie Coleman took her pilot's license in France in 1921 because no American school would train a Black woman, and Bessie Smith was the highest-paid Black performer of the 1920s.
Bessie in use
Bessie peaked in the United States in 1916, when 4,132 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It now charts in two of the seven markets we track — 1926th in England and Wales on 15 births and 6909th in the United States on 16 — across 171,343 lifetime births. England and Wales places it nearly five thousand ranks above America, where its peak was recorded.
How popular is Bessie?
In 2025, Bessie was given to 16 babies in the United States. It is a rare choice.
Where Bessie is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Bessie
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Bessie also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Bessie over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Bessie in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Bessie
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Bessie — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Bessie
What does the name Bessie mean?
God is my oath, carried from Elizabeth.
Is Bessie short for Elizabeth?
Yes, a Scottish and northern English pet form.
How many nicknames does Elizabeth have?
More than almost any English name — Bess, Betsy, Betty, Beth, Libby, Lisa, Eliza and Elsie among them.
How popular is Bessie?
1926th in England and Wales, well above its 6909th in the United States.
Is Bessie a girl's or a boy's name?
Bessie is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Bessie?
Bessie has 2 syllables.
Is Bessie a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Bessie currently ranks #1,926 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.