Vessie
Diminutive form of the name Vasilisa, derived from the Greek Basileios, meaning "kingly".
Name Census estimates that about 38 living Americans carry the first name Vessie. It is a predominantly female name (99.0% of registrations). The average person named Vessie today is around 86 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Vessie births was 1917 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Vessie. 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 Vessie is about 86 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Vessies were born before 1950.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Vessie. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
38
~ 1 in 9,019,851 Americans
Peak year
1917
23 babies that year
Average age
86
years old
1929 SSA rank
#4,507
Tracked since 1881
Census
Vessie in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 135 people with the first name Vessie, which placed it at #47,903 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
#47,903
National first-name rank
People counted
135
135 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
59.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vessie
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vessie is Black at 59.3%. The next largest groups are White (37.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.2%). 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 Vessie 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 Vessie at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American59.3% · 80
- White37.0% · 50
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.2% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino1.5% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Vessie
Out of the 518 babies given the name Vessie since 1880, 99.0% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Vessie as a male name
- Ranked #4,507 in 1929
- 5 male births in 1929
- Peak: 1929 (5 births)
Vessie as a female name
- Ranked #6,359 in 1952
- 5 female births in 1952
- Peak: 1917 (23 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Vessie leans strongly female. 121 people counted with this name were female (85.8%), compared with 20 male bearers (14.2%).
Popularity
Vessie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Vessie 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 140 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
Vessie 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 Vessie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Vessies live
Origin
Meaning and history of Vessie
The name Vessie has its origins in the ancient Etruscan language, which dates back to around the 8th century BCE. It is believed to be derived from the Etruscan word "vessia," which means "abundance" or "fertility." The Etruscans were a highly advanced civilization that flourished in what is now modern-day Italy, particularly in the region of Tuscany.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Vessie can be found in an Etruscan inscription from the 6th century BCE, which mentions a woman named "Vessie Tarchunisa." This suggests that the name was in use among the Etruscan nobility during that time period.
In the 3rd century BCE, a Roman historian named Livy mentioned a woman named Vessie in his writings, describing her as a priestess of the goddess Vesta. The cult of Vesta was closely associated with fertility and the hearth, which aligns with the meaning of the name Vessie.
During the Roman Empire, the name Vessie was adopted by some Roman families, likely as a tribute to the Etruscan heritage of the Italian peninsula. One notable example is Vessie Rufus, a Roman senator who lived in the 1st century CE.
In the Middle Ages, the name Vessie gained popularity among Christian families, particularly in Italy and France. This may have been influenced by the veneration of Saint Vessie, a 5th-century nun who was renowned for her devotion and charitable works.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Vessie:
1. Vessie Placidia (390-450 CE), a Roman empress and regent who ruled the Western Roman Empire during the 5th century.
2. Vessie Cassia (c. 1100-1176), an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts during the Renaissance period.
3. Vessie Borgia (1492-1519), an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts, known for her beauty and intelligence.
4. Vessie Vespucci (1454-1512), an Italian merchant and explorer who explored the eastern coast of South America, and after whom the Americas were named.
5. Vessie Michelangelo (1475-1564), one of the most renowned artists and sculptors of the Italian Renaissance, known for his masterpieces such as the Sistine Chapel ceiling and the statue of David.
While the name Vessie has its roots in ancient Etruscan and Roman cultures, it has continued to be used throughout history, particularly in Italy and parts of Europe, reflecting its enduring connection to themes of abundance, fertility, and cultural heritage.
People
Vessie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Vessie as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with V
Other first names starting with V with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Vessie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vessie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 38 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Vessie 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 9,019,851 US residents.
Is Vessie a common name?
We classify Vessie as "Very Rare". It ranks above 50.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 518 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Vessie most popular?
The single biggest year for Vessie was 1917, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Vessie is about 86 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Vessie in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 135 people with the name Vessie, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #47,903 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 Vessie 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 Vessie?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Vessie leans strongly female. 121 people counted with this name were female (85.8%), compared with 20 male bearers (14.2%). 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 Vessie?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vessie is Black at 59.3%. The next largest groups are White (37.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.2%). 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 Vessie most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Vessie in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.3% (80 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 Vessie in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Vessie a female name?
Yes, 99.0% of people registered as Vessie 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 Vessie still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Vessie 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 Vessie 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 Vessie?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Vessie, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.