Tess

femaleStatistical record

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

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

Tess: Recorded since 1990, it reached #133 in 2021, and it stood at #148 in 2025.

4registrars recorded it
83times a registrar ranked it
36years from first to last
#133highest recorded position
14groupings it qualifies for

Region

Falling

among girls in England and Wales · 1996–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#643
1997	#689
1998	#649
1999	#691
2000	#485
2001	#565
2002	#463
2003	#545
2004	#459
2005	#423
2006	#456
2007	#589
2008	#532
2009	#438
2010	#499
2011	#530
2012	#624
2013	#676
2014	#763
2015	#674
2016	#790
2017	#982
2018	#1083
2019	#996
2020	#1313
2021	#1628
2022	#1849
2023	#1774
2024	#2771

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 Republic of Ireland in 30 of the 36 years from 1990 to 2025.

In 2024: #149 among girls in Republic of Ireland, #227 among girls in Northern Ireland, #638 among girls in Scotland, #2771 among girls in England and Wales.

Official data from 4 national registrars across 4 regions, 1990–2025 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1990
First recorded at #517 among girls in Republic of Ireland in 1990 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Republic of Ireland · Girls
Highest recorded1990–2025
Highest recorded position: #133 among girls in Republic of Ireland, in 2021 (recorded 1990–2025).
Republic of Ireland · Girls
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #148 among girls in Republic of Ireland, in 2025.
Republic of Ireland · Girls

Tess appears in 3 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Girls, which has ranked it in 30 years beginning in 1990, and has registered 585 births with the name.

Tess across 3 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Tess's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
Republic of Ireland · Girls	#517 (1990)	#133 (2021)	#148 (2025)	30 of 36	585 (1990–2025)	39 (2021)
England and Wales · Girls	#643 (1996)	#423 (2005)	#2771 (2024)	29 of 29	1,486 (1996–2024)	95 (2009)
Northern Ireland · Girls	#358 (1997)	#175 (2022)	#227 (2024)	23 of 28	155 (1997–2024)	11 (2022)

Tess by decade in Republic of Ireland · 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 Tess in Republic of Ireland · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1990s	14	4 of 10	4
2000s	111	10 of 10	11
2010s	259	10 of 10	26
2020sbusiest	201	6 of 10	34

Across Republic of Ireland · Girls, the 2020s were its busiest decade — the 6 years of it this list covers, averaging 34 births a year.

See the names Republic of Irelandhas recorded the most births with →

Tess appears in

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

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 4 regions, from 1990 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #133 in Republic of Ireland in 2021.

Tess'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	#2771	9	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	female	#1774	16	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	female	#1849	15	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	female	#1628	18	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	female	#1313	24	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	female	#996	35	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	female	#1083	32	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	female	#982	37	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	female	#790	49	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	female	#674	60	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	female	#763	51	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	female	#676	59	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	female	#624	67	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	female	#530	79	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	female	#499	81	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	female	#438	95	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	female	#532	72	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	female	#589	61	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	female	#456	85	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	female	#423	88	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	female	#459	76	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	female	#545	56	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	female	#463	67	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	female	#565	49	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	female	#485	61	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	female	#691	34	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	female	#649	38	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	female	#689	35	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	female	#643	37	High	Verified
2024	Northern Ireland	female	#227	7	High	Verified
2023	Northern Ireland	female	#209	8	High	Verified
2022	Northern Ireland	female	#175	11	High	Verified
2021	Northern Ireland	female	#190	10	High	Verified
2020	Northern Ireland	female	#228	7	High	Verified
2019	Northern Ireland	female	#200	9	High	Verified
2018	Northern Ireland	female	#218	8	High	Verified
2017	Northern Ireland	female	#296	5	High	Verified
2016	Northern Ireland	female	#202	10	High	Verified
2015	Northern Ireland	female	#358	4	High	Verified
2014	Northern Ireland	female	#205	9	High	Verified
2013	Northern Ireland	female	#218	9	High	Verified
2012	Northern Ireland	female	#383	4	High	Verified
2011	Northern Ireland	female	#363	4	High	Verified
2010	Northern Ireland	female	#194	10	High	Verified
2009	Northern Ireland	female	#224	8	High	Verified
2008	Northern Ireland	female	#228	8	High	Verified
2006	Northern Ireland	female	#203	9	High	Verified
2005	Northern Ireland	female	#377	3	High	Verified
2004	Northern Ireland	female	#372	3	High	Verified
2001	Northern Ireland	female	#343	3	High	Verified
2000	Northern Ireland	female	#348	3	High	Verified
1997	Northern Ireland	female	#358	3	High	Verified
2025	Republic of Ireland	female	#148	31	High	Verified
2024	Republic of Ireland	female	#149	31	High	Verified
2023	Republic of Ireland	female	#163	29	High	Verified
2022	Republic of Ireland	female	#137	39	High	Verified
2021	Republic of Ireland	female	#133	39	High	Verified
2020	Republic of Ireland	female	#155	32	High	Verified
2019	Republic of Ireland	female	#149	36	High	Verified
2018	Republic of Ireland	female	#162	32	High	Verified
2017	Republic of Ireland	female	#170	31	High	Verified
2016	Republic of Ireland	female	#176	31	High	Verified
2015	Republic of Ireland	female	#210	25	High	Verified
2014	Republic of Ireland	female	#291	17	High	Verified
2013	Republic of Ireland	female	#207	27	High	Verified
2012	Republic of Ireland	female	#250	20	High	Verified
2011	Republic of Ireland	female	#285	18	High	Verified
2010	Republic of Ireland	female	#245	22	High	Verified
2009	Republic of Ireland	female	#232	23	High	Verified
2008	Republic of Ireland	female	#251	21	High	Verified
2007	Republic of Ireland	female	#326	13	High	Verified
2006	Republic of Ireland	female	#260	16	High	Verified
2005	Republic of Ireland	female	#300	12	High	Verified
2004	Republic of Ireland	female	#414	7	High	Verified
2003	Republic of Ireland	female	#490	5	High	Verified
2002	Republic of Ireland	female	#512	4	High	Verified
2001	Republic of Ireland	female	#369	7	High	Verified
2000	Republic of Ireland	female	#536	3	High	Verified
1999	Republic of Ireland	female	#528	3	High	Verified
1997	Republic of Ireland	female	#440	5	High	Verified
1995	Republic of Ireland	female	#516	3	High	Verified
1990	Republic of Ireland	female	#517	3	High	Verified
2024	Scotland	female	#638	4	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
Northern Ireland hub — collected by NISRA
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland
Scotland hub — collected by National Records of Scotland

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

What the record shows

Recorded by 4 registrars between 1990 and 2025, ranked in 32 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #133, first reached in 2021.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 95 births, registered in England and Wales in 2009.

Its record falls into 2 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 4 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1996, and 34 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

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.

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.

Terry · #49, 72y
Tesni · #1165, 27y
Tessa · #38, 42y
Tessie · #350, 8y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 4 registrars, 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.

Ariella · #132, 30y
Zack · #135, 30y
Arianna · #130, 31y
Carys · #130, 29y

Also first recorded in the 1990s

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

Jordon · #133, 30y
Saffron · #133, 31y
Ariella · #132, 30y
Betsy · #132, 29y

Tess was ranked #133 in Republic of Ireland · Girls in 2021. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Tess 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 Tess without appearing here.

Tess moved ahead of

Sinead Compare
In 2023 they stood at #1774 and #1705 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2024 that had become #2771 and #3695.
Katrina Compare
In 2022 they stood at #1849 and #1767 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2023 that had become #1774 and #2504.
Janet Compare
In 2009 they stood at #490 and #439 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2010 that had become #245 and #910.
Stacey Compare
In 2022 they stood at #1849 and #1621 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2023 that had become #1774 and #2346.

Moved ahead of Tess

Shania Compare
In 2023 they stood at #1774 and #2063 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2024 that had become #2771 and #1353.
Marilyn Compare
In 2023 they stood at #1774 and #2063 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2024 that had become #2771 and #1541.
Dylan Compare
In 2023 they stood at #1774 and #1959 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2024 that had become #2771 and #1743.
Noah Compare
In 2023 they stood at #1774 and #3218 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2024 that had become #2771 and #1743.

Moved the opposite way to Tess

Aimee Compare
Between 1990 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Tess went from #517 to #148 while Aimee went from #143 to #885.
Alison Compare
Between 1990 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Tess went from #517 to #148 while Alison went from #38 to #213.
Amy Compare
Between 1990 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Tess went from #517 to #148 while Amy went from #12 to #138.
Andrea Compare
Between 1990 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Tess went from #517 to #148 while Andrea went from #80 to #304.

Moved the same way as Tess

Amelia Compare
Between 1990 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Tess went from #517 to #148 and Amelia from #446 to #12.
Annie Compare
Between 1990 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Tess went from #517 to #148 and Annie from #221 to #33.
Ava Compare
Between 1990 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Tess went from #517 to #148 and Ava from #357 to #26.
Caoimhe Compare
Between 1990 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Tess went from #517 to #148 and Caoimhe from #86 to #31.

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.

Official popularity data is available for 4 regions, from 1990 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #133 in Republic of Ireland in 2021. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Tess

Tess at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Tess across 3 official records

Tess by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Tess 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

Names published alongside Tess

Tess and the names beside it

Tess moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Tess

Moved the opposite way to Tess

Moved the same way as Tess

Tess at a glance

Tess across 3 official records

Tess by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Tess appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Names published alongside Tess

Tess and the names beside it

Tess moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Tess

Moved the opposite way to Tess

Moved the same way as Tess