Contessa
An Italian feminine name meaning "countess" from the Latin "comes".
Name Census estimates that about 1,918 living Americans carry the first name Contessa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Contessa today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Contessa births was 1983 (130 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Contessa. 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.
People living today
1.9K
~ 1 in 178,704 Americans
Peak year
1983
130 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2023 SSA rank
#8,146
Tracked since 1957
Census
Contessa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,708 people with the first name Contessa, which placed it at #8,487 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#8,487
National first-name rank
People counted
1.7K
1,708 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
46.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Contessa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Contessa is White at 46.1%. The next largest groups are Black (33.1%) and Hispanic (10.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Contessa described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Contessa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White46.1% · 787
- Black or African American33.1% · 566
- Hispanic or Latino10.9% · 187
- Two or more races6.7% · 115
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 25
Popularity
Contessa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Contessa from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 632 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Contessa 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 Contessa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Contessas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. Texas, Georgia, California recorded the most babies named Contessa, while Washington, Tennessee, South Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 22 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Contessa
The name Contessa originates from the Italian language and culture. It is derived from the Italian word "contessa," which means "countess." This title was used to refer to a noble woman who held the rank of a count or earl in the feudal system of medieval Europe.
The earliest known use of the name Contessa can be traced back to the 13th century, when it was used to refer to the wives of Italian noblemen. During this time, it was common for Italian noble families to use titles as part of their names, and Contessa became a popular choice for daughters born into these families.
One of the most famous historical figures with the name Contessa was Contessa Beatrice d'Este (1191-1245), who was the Countess of Ferrara and Modena in northern Italy. She was known for her patronage of the arts and her support of the Franciscan order.
Another notable Contessa was Contessa Maria Vittoria Delfini (1556-1634), an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts who was a prominent figure in the intellectual circles of Renaissance Rome.
In the 18th century, the name Contessa was popularized by Contessa Maria Antonia Walpurgis of Bavaria (1724-1780), an influential composer and patron of the arts who was a member of the Bavarian royal family.
Contessa Lilian Venetia Stanley (1833-1923), an English aristocrat and philanthropist, was also a prominent figure in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She was known for her work in promoting education and social welfare.
One of the most famous Contessas of the 20th century was Contessa Margherita Sarfatti (1880-1961), an Italian art critic and writer who was a close friend and confidante of the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Contessa, reflecting its long-standing association with nobility and cultural prominence, particularly in Italy.
People
Contessa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Contessa as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Contessa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Contessa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,918 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Contessa 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 178,704 US residents.
Is Contessa a common name?
We classify Contessa as "Rare". It ranks above 93.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,040 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Contessa most popular?
The single biggest year for Contessa was 1983, when 130 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Contessa is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Contessa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,708 people with the name Contessa, or 0.57 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,487 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Contessa in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Contessa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Contessa appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,712 people counted with this name, 99.7% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Contessa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Contessa is White at 46.1%. The next largest groups are Black (33.1%) and Hispanic (10.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Contessa most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Contessa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.1% (787 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Contessa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Contessa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Contessa 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 Contessa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Contessa 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 Contessa 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.
How many people have the name Contessa?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.