Fess
A shortened form of the given name "Fessler", derived from a German occupational surname.
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Fess. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Fess today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Fess births was 1919 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Fess. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Fess. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1919
5 babies that year
Average age
-
1919 SSA rank
#4,389
Tracked since 1919
Popularity
Fess: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Fess 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 Fess during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Fess
The given name Fess is a diminutive form derived from the Germanic name Ferdinand. Ferdinand itself comes from the Germanic elements "frith" meaning peace and "nan" meaning brave or hardy. The name first appeared in the 9th century among the Visigoths who controlled parts of the Iberian Peninsula and southern France at that time.
The earliest recorded example of the name Ferdinand dates back to the late 8th century, referring to Ferdinand I, Count of Castile who ruled from 790 to 835. Ferdinand I played a pivotal role in the Reconquista, the long struggle against the Moors who had conquered most of the Iberian Peninsula.
Another notable bearer of the name was Ferdinand II of Aragon, who reigned from 1479 to 1516. His marriage to Isabella I of Castile united Spain into a single nation-state and ushered in the Spanish Golden Age. Ferdinand II also sponsored the voyages of Christopher Columbus, leading to the discovery of the Americas.
In the 16th century, the name Ferdinand became popular among the Habsburg rulers of the Holy Roman Empire. One of the most famous was Ferdinand I, who ruled as Holy Roman Emperor from 1556 to 1564. He was a key figure in the Counter-Reformation and played a major role in the spread of Protestantism across Europe.
Another notable Ferdinand was Ferdinand II of Habsburg, who reigned as Holy Roman Emperor from 1619 to 1637. His policies helped ignite the Thirty Years' War, one of the most destructive conflicts in European history.
The diminutive form Fess first appeared in the late 19th century, likely as a shortened version of Ferdinand. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this name was Fess Parker, an American actor and businessman best known for his portrayal of Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone in popular television series in the 1950s and 1960s.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Fess
People
Fess + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Fess as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with F
Other first names starting with F with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Fess: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Fess?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Fess 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 - US residents.
Is Fess a common name?
We classify Fess as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Fess most popular?
The single biggest year for Fess was 1919, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Fess is about 0 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 Fess in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Fess a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Fess 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.
Is Fess still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Fess 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 Fess 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 share the name Fess?
Want to know how many Americans are named Fess? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.