Hessie
A diminutive form of Esther, a Persian name meaning "star".
Name Census estimates that about 90 living Americans carry the first name Hessie. It is a predominantly female name (98.6% of registrations). The average person named Hessie today is around 84 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hessie births was 1920 (49 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hessie. 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 Hessie is about 84 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Hessies were born before 1952.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Hessie. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
90
~ 1 in 3,808,382 Americans
Peak year
1920
49 babies that year
Average age
84
years old
1920 SSA rank
#4,593
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Hessie
Hessie leans heavily female at 98.6% of total registrations, but 16 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Hessie as a male name
- Ranked #4,593 in 1920
- 5 male births in 1920
- Peak: 1915 (6 births)
Hessie as a female name
- Ranked #5,822 in 1959
- 6 female births in 1959
- Peak: 1920 (44 births)
Popularity
Hessie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hessie from the 1880s through to the 1950s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 264 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hessie 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 Hessie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hessies live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee recorded the most babies named Hessie, while Alabama, Kentucky, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 28 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hessie
The name Hessie has its roots in the Germanic languages and is thought to have originated as a diminutive form of the name Hester, derived from the Greek name Esther. The name Esther itself is believed to have Persian origins, possibly stemming from the Persian word "star" or "planet Venus."
Historically, the name Hessie has been used predominantly in English-speaking countries and regions with strong Germanic cultural influences. Its earliest recorded usage can be traced back to the late Middle Ages, primarily in regions such as England and Scotland.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hessie can be found in the parish records of St. Mary's Church in Bury St. Edmunds, England, dating back to the late 15th century. Here, a woman named Hessie Smythe was mentioned as a member of the local community.
In the 17th century, the name Hessie gained some prominence with the birth of Hessie Wilbraham (1600-1671), an English noblewoman from Cheshire. She was a member of the prominent Wilbraham family and married Sir Richard Wilbraham of Woodhey.
Another notable figure bearing the name Hessie was Hessie Smith (1788-1867), a Scottish poet and writer from Aberdeenshire. She is remembered for her collection of poems titled "The Lintie o' Moray," which celebrated the natural beauty of her native region.
In the 19th century, Hessie Hawkins (1820-1895) was a prominent American educator and advocate for women's rights. Born in New York, she co-founded the Poughkeepsie Female Seminary, one of the earliest institutions dedicated to providing higher education for women in the United States.
Moving into the 20th century, Hessie Granger (1905-1989) was a notable American artist and painter from North Carolina. Her works, which often depicted rural life and landscapes of the American South, are part of several museum collections, including the Mint Museum in Charlotte.
While the name Hessie has maintained a presence throughout history, particularly in English-speaking regions with Germanic cultural influences, it has remained relatively uncommon compared to other names of similar origin.
People
Hessie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hessie as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Hessie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hessie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 90 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hessie 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 3,808,382 US residents.
Is Hessie a common name?
We classify Hessie as "Very Rare". It ranks above 63% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,134 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hessie most popular?
The single biggest year for Hessie was 1920, when 49 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hessie is about 84 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Hessie a female name?
Yes, 98.6% of people registered as Hessie 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.
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.