Essa
A masculine Arabic name meaning "Jesus" or "protector".
Name Census estimates that about 828 living Americans carry the first name Essa. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 76.6% of registrations being male. The average person named Essa today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Essa births was 2022 (71 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Essa. 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
828
~ 1 in 413,955 Americans
Peak year
2022
71 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,169
Tracked since 1885
Gender
Gender distribution for Essa
Essa is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 924 total registrations, 708 (76.6%) were male and 216 (23.4%) were female.
Essa as a male name
- Ranked #3,169 in 2024
- 38 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (57 births)
Essa as a female name
- Ranked #12,532 in 2024
- 7 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2017 (15 births)
Popularity
Essa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Essa from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 364 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Essa remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Essa 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 Essa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Essas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. New York, Texas, California recorded the most babies named Essa, while Ohio, Virginia, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 28 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Essa
The name Essa originates from the Arabic language and has been in use for centuries across the Middle East and parts of North Africa. It is derived from the Arabic word "Issa," which is a variant of the name Jesus. In Arabic, the name Essa means "God is salvation" or "God is the savior."
Historically, the name Essa has been associated with Islam and its holy scriptures, particularly the Quran, where it is used to refer to Jesus Christ. The Quran mentions Essa as a prophet and messenger of God who was given the ability to perform miracles and spread the word of God.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Essa can be found in the writings of Muslim scholars from the 7th and 8th centuries CE. These scholars often referred to Jesus Christ as Essa, in accordance with the Islamic tradition.
Throughout history, there have been several notable figures who bore the name Essa. One of the most famous was Essa ibn Musa al-Naushari, an 8th-century Arab mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the development of algebra and trigonometry.
Another prominent individual with the name Essa was Essa al-Muhallabi, a 9th-century Arab poet and scholar who was known for his mastery of Arabic literature and his contributions to the field of philology.
In the 12th century, Essa ibn Masah al-Jahiz was a renowned Arab philosopher and writer who addressed various topics, including theology, ethics, and zoology.
During the Ottoman Empire, Essa Pasha was a prominent 16th-century Ottoman statesman and military commander who served as the governor of several provinces and played a significant role in the expansion of Ottoman territories.
More recently, Essa Moosa was a South African anti-apartheid activist and religious leader who played a crucial role in the struggle against racial segregation in the 20th century.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Essa, reflecting its deep-rooted cultural and religious significance within the Arab and Islamic world.
People
Essa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Essa as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Essa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Essa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 828 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Essa 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 413,955 US residents.
Is Essa a common name?
We classify Essa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 924 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Essa most popular?
The single biggest year for Essa was 2022, when 71 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Essa is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Essa a male name?
Yes, 76.6% of people registered as Essa in the SSA data are male. 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.
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.