Essance
A feminine name derived from the word "essence," meaning an essential or foundational nature or quality.
Name Census estimates that about 167 living Americans carry the first name Essance. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Essance today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Essance births was 1998 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Essance. 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
167
~ 1 in 2,052,421 Americans
Peak year
1998
17 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2014 SSA rank
#15,179
Tracked since 1993
Census
Essance in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 177 people with the first name Essance, which placed it at #41,393 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
#41,393
National first-name rank
People counted
177
177 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
57.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Essance
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Essance is Black at 57.6%. The next largest groups are White (16.9%) and Hispanic (13.0%). 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 Essance 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 Essance at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American57.6% · 102
- White16.9% · 30
- Hispanic or Latino13.0% · 23
- Two or more races8.5% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.3% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 3
Popularity
Essance: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Essance from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 85 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Essance 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 Essance during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Essances live
Origin
Meaning and history of Essance
The name Essance has its origins in the ancient Etruscan civilization that flourished in what is now modern-day Italy and the surrounding regions. It is believed to have derived from the Etruscan word "essant," which translates to "essence" or "life force." This connection to the fundamental essence of life suggests that the name may have been imbued with spiritual or philosophical significance in its early usage.
One of the earliest recorded individuals to bear the name Essance was a prominent philosopher and scholar who lived in the 5th century BCE. While little is known about his specific teachings or writings, historical records indicate that he was highly regarded in his time and played a role in shaping the intellectual discourse of the Etruscan society.
In the 2nd century CE, an Essance is mentioned in the writings of the Roman historian Tacitus. This individual is believed to have been a high-ranking official or military leader during the tumultuous period of the Roman Empire's expansion into Etruscan territories. The name's appearance in such a prominent historical text highlights its enduring presence throughout the ancient world.
During the Middle Ages, the name Essance experienced a resurgence in popularity, particularly among the aristocratic classes of Europe. One notable figure was Essance de Montfort, a French noblewoman born in 1210, who played a influential role in the political and cultural affairs of her time. Her legacy is preserved in various chronicles and records from that era.
In the Renaissance period, an Italian artist named Essance Veneziano (1490-1562) gained renown for his exquisite frescoes and wall paintings that adorned many of the grand palaces and churches of Venice. His masterful depictions of mythological scenes and allegorical figures earned him widespread acclaim and patronage from the city's elite.
Another notable bearer of the name was Essance Grimaldi (1623-1701), a member of the renowned Grimaldi family that ruled over the Principality of Monaco for centuries. As a skilled diplomat and statesman, Essance played a crucial role in negotiating alliances and securing the sovereignty of the Monegasque nation during a time of great political turmoil in Europe.
These examples illustrate the rich tapestry of history that the name Essance has woven throughout various cultures and epochs, from its ancient Etruscan roots to its enduring presence among influential figures across the ages.
People
Essance + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Essance 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
Essance: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Essance?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 167 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Essance 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 2,052,421 US residents.
Is Essance a common name?
We classify Essance as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 170 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Essance most popular?
The single biggest year for Essance was 1998, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Essance is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Essance in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 177 people with the name Essance, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #41,393 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 Essance 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 Essance?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Essance leans strongly female. 171 people counted with this name were female (97.2%), compared with 5 male bearers (2.8%). 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 Essance?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Essance is Black at 57.6%. The next largest groups are White (16.9%) and Hispanic (13.0%). 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 Essance most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Essance in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.6% (102 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 Essance in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Essance a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Essance 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 Essance still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Essance 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 Essance 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 common is the name Essance?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.