Besse
A variant of the feminine name Elizabeth, derived from Hebrew meaning "God is my oath".
Name Census estimates that about 7 living Americans carry the first name Besse. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Besse today is around 131 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Besse births was 1889 (39 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Besse. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Besse is about 131 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Besses were born before 1905.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Besse. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
7
~ 1 in 48,964,905 Americans
Peak year
1889
39 babies that year
Average age
131
years old
1926 SSA rank
#3,613
Tracked since 1880
Popularity
Besse: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Besse from the 1880s through to the 1920s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1880s, with 214 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1880s peak, Besse remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Besse by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Besse during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Besse
The given name Besse is a feminine form of the French name Bèthis, which is derived from the ancient Greek name Βηθσαΐδα (Bethsaida). It is believed to have originated in the region of Galilee, where the ancient city of Bethsaida was located during the time of Jesus Christ.
The name Bethsaida is composed of two Hebrew words: "beth" meaning "house" and "saida" meaning "fishing" or "hunter". Thus, the name is thought to have originally meant "house of fishing" or "house of the hunter". It is likely that the name was given to the city due to its location near the Sea of Galilee, where fishing was a common occupation.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Besse can be found in the Bible's New Testament, where the city of Bethsaida is mentioned as the hometown of the apostles Peter, Andrew, and Philip. This suggests that the name was in use during the 1st century AD.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Besse. One of the earliest known was Besse de Courcelles (c. 1610-1659), a French nun and mystic who was known for her religious writings and visions. Another was Besse Cooper (1896-2012), an American woman who was recognized as the world's oldest living person at the age of 116.
In the 18th century, Besse Heywood (c. 1720-1786) was a British Quaker minister and writer who advocated for the abolition of slavery. Besse Brown Clemens (1838-1904), the wife of American author Samuel Clemens (better known as Mark Twain), was another notable figure with this name.
In the 20th century, Besse Cooper (1896-2012) gained recognition as the world's oldest living person at the time of her death at the age of 116. Besse Streeter Aldrich (1881-1954) was an American author and novelist who wrote several books set in the American Midwest.
While the name Besse has fallen out of widespread use in modern times, its origins can be traced back to the ancient city of Bethsaida and its significance in the Christian tradition. Over the centuries, the name has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including religious figures, writers, and those who achieved notable longevity.
People
Besse + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Besse as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Besse: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Besse?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Besse going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 48,964,905 US residents.
Is Besse a common name?
We classify Besse as "Very Rare". It ranks above 23.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 671 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Besse most popular?
The single biggest year for Besse was 1889, when 39 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Besse is about 131 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Besse in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Besse a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Besse in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Besse still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Besse in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Besse can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Besse?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.