Bessie
2025 SSA
Below 5 births
About Bessie
After a century of association with horses and cows, this name just could be ready for revival by a fearless baby namer -- after all, it did happen to Jessie and Becky.
Bessie has been in use since the seventeenth century and is found as characters in Jane Eyre and in Sean O'Casey's play The Plough and the Stars. More recently, she was an animated automotive character in the movie Cars.
On the popularity lists until 1975, Bessie was a Top 25 name from 1880 to 1906, reaching Number 9 in 1889. Notable namesakes include the great blues singer Bessie Smith, and Bessie Coleman, the first African-American female aviator.
And if you want to go more refined, you could simplify to Bess.
Bessie is also given to boys.
Pronounced BES-ee.
As of October 2026, Bessie ranked #6889 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #9 in 1889.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank · girls | Births · girls | US rank · boys | Births · boys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | — | 0 | — | 0 |
| 2015 | — | 0 | — | 0 |
| 2016 | — | 0 | — | 0 |
| 2017 | — | 0 | — | 0 |
| 2018 | — | 0 | — | 0 |
| 2019 | — | 0 | — | 0 |
| 2020 | — | 0 | — | 0 |
| 2021 | — | 0 | — | 0 |
| 2022 | — | 0 | — | 0 |
| 2023 | — | 0 | — | 0 |
| 2024 | — | 0 | — | 0 |
| 2025 | — | 0 | — | 0 |
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Bessie.
Bessie on lists
Famous Bessies
- Bessie SmithGirl
American jazz singer
- (Bessie) Wallis Warfield SimpsonGirl
Duchess of Windsor, American socialite; wife of Britain's King Edward VIII
- Bessie Love (born Juanita Horton)Girl
American silent film actress
- Bessie Barriscale (born Elizabeth Barry Scale)Girl
American stage and silent film actress
- Bessie ColemanGirl
American aviatrix
- Elizabeth Margaret "Bessie" BraddockGirl
English MP for Liverpool
- Bessie Amelia Emery HeadGirl
Botswanian writer
- Bessie Potter VonnohGirl
American sculptor
- Bessie BanksGirl
American soul singer
- Bessie CarterGirl
English actress
- (Bessie) Lillian Gordy CarterGirl
mother of U.S. President Jimmy Carter
Bessie in pop culture
- BessieGirl
character in The Faraway Tree series by Enid Blyton
- Bessie BusybodyGirl
character from the TV show "Lazy Town"
- BessieGirl
Mrs. Forrester's cow in Cranford
- Bessie ClavellGirl
character in "The Sims 3" computer game