Bess

femaleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Bess: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Bess: Recorded since 1999, it reached #1,966 in 2014, and it stood at #5,891 in 2024.

1registrar recorded it
20times a registrar ranked it
26years from first to last
#1966highest recorded position
7groupings it qualifies for

England and Wales · Girls

Falling

among girls in England and Wales · 1999–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1999	#3225
2000	#3247
2003	#4373
2004	#3725
2007	#2233
2008	#2721
2009	#2326
2010	#4688
2011	#4049
2012	#3681
2013	#3160
2014	#1966
2015	#2496
2016	#2367
2017	#3583
2018	#3178
2020	#3447
2021	#4634
2023	#2927
2024	#5891

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Girls

Recorded in official data among girls in England and Wales in 20 of the 26 years from 1999 to 2024.

Official data for England and Wales, 1999–2024 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1999
First recorded at #3225 among girls in England and Wales in 1999 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
England and Wales · Girls
Highest recorded1999–2024
Highest recorded position: #1966 among girls in England and Wales, in 2014 (recorded 1999–2024).
England and Wales · Girls
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #5891 among girls in England and Wales, in 2024.
England and Wales · Girls

Bess by decade in England and Wales · Girls

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Bess in England and Wales · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1990s	4	1 of 10	4
2000s	39	6 of 10	7
2010sbusiest	70	9 of 10	8
2020s	21	4 of 10	5

Across England and Wales · Girls, the 2010s were its busiest decade — the 9 years of it this list covers, averaging 8 births a year.

See the names England and Waleshas recorded the most births with →

Bess appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Recorded in official data for England and Wales from 1999 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #1966 in England and Wales in 2014.

Bess's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2024	England and Wales	female	#5891	3	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	female	#2927	8	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	female	#4634	4	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	female	#3447	6	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	female	#3178	7	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	female	#3583	6	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	female	#2367	11	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	female	#2496	10	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	female	#1966	14	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	female	#3160	7	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	female	#3681	6	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	female	#4049	5	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	female	#4688	4	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	female	#2326	10	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	female	#2721	8	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	female	#2233	10	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	female	#3725	4	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	female	#4373	3	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	female	#3247	4	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	female	#3225	4	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 1 registrar between 1999 and 2024, ranked in 20 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #1,966, first reached in 2014.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 14 births, registered in England and Wales in 2014.

Its record falls into 5 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 2 years.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

4decades with a ranked yearRecorded in 4 decades →
12 yearslongest unbroken run of ranked years10 to 19 unbroken years →
5separate stretches the record falls into5 separate stretches →
2 yearslongest absence inside the recorded period2 to 3 years missing →
#5,891position in 2024, its most recent recorded year
14births registered in its largest year, 2014Under 25 births →

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Bertrand · #2857, 17y
Beryl · #372, 26y
Bessie · #1094, 27y
Beth · #40, 34y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 1 registrar, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Ellie-Rae · #1966, 20y
Harneet · #1965, 23y
Minaal · #1965, 19y
Abubaker · #1962, 21y

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1990 and 1999.

Ellie-Rae · #1966, 20y
Aishwarya · #1965, 26y
Harneet · #1965, 23y
Abubaker · #1962, 21y

Bess and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Bess without appearing here.

Bess moved ahead of

Helene Compare
In 2013 they stood at #3681 and #3285 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2014 that had become #1966 and #5691.
Josefine Compare
In 2006 they stood at #4373 and #4373 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2007 that had become #2233 and #5201.
George Compare
In 2007 they stood at #3725 and #2802 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2008 that had become #2721 and #5545.
Kristy Compare
In 2013 they stood at #3681 and #3285 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2014 that had become #1966 and #4684.

Moved ahead of Bess

Noah Compare
In 2023 they stood at #2927 and #3218 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2024 that had become #5891 and #1743.
Cooper Compare
In 2023 they stood at #2927 and #4709 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2024 that had become #5891 and #3695.
Dylan Compare
In 2002 they stood at #3247 and #3912 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2003 that had become #4373 and #2191.
Frida Compare
In 2002 they stood at #3247 and #3912 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2003 that had become #4373 and #2727.

Moved the opposite way to Bess

Ada Compare
Between 1999 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Bess went from #3225 to #5891 while Ada went from #2189 to #40.
Alma Compare
Between 1999 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Bess went from #3225 to #5891 while Alma went from #3225 to #234.
Alyssa Compare
Between 1999 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Bess went from #3225 to #5891 while Alyssa went from #483 to #285.
Amalie Compare
Between 1999 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Bess went from #3225 to #5891 while Amalie went from #2770 to #1128.

Moved the same way as Bess

Abigail Compare
Between 1999 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Bess went from #3225 to #5891 and Abigail from #20 to #154.
Aimee Compare
Between 1999 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Bess went from #3225 to #5891 and Aimee from #70 to #1603.
Aisling Compare
Between 1999 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Bess went from #3225 to #5891 and Aisling from #410 to #2000.
Alex Compare
Between 1999 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Bess went from #3225 to #5891 and Alex from #204 to #2253.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Recorded in official data for England and Wales from 1999 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #1966 in England and Wales in 2014. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Bess

Bess at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Bess by decade in England and Wales · Girls

Bess appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Bess and the names beside it

Bess moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Bess

Moved the opposite way to Bess

Moved the same way as Bess

Bess at a glance

Bess by decade in England and Wales · Girls

Bess appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Bess and the names beside it

Bess moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Bess

Moved the opposite way to Bess

Moved the same way as Bess