Find out how popular the last name Bessie is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Bessie.

Bessie, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Bessie surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bessie in America

Bessie is the 133863rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bessie surname appeared 126 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Bessie.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bessie to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Bessie

The surname Bessie is of English origin, deriving from the medieval pet form of the name Elizabeth. It is believed to have emerged as a hereditary surname during the late 12th or early 13th century.

Bessie is thought to have originated in the county of Northamptonshire, where it was particularly prevalent in the areas around the towns of Kettering and Corby. The name may have derived from the Old English word "beis" meaning "dweller at the brushwood."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Bessie can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Northamptonshire from 1230, which mention a Walter Bessie from the village of Geddington. Another early reference is in the Subsidy Rolls of Bedfordshire from 1302, listing a Thomas Bessie.

During the 13th and 14th centuries, the surname Bessie appears to have spread from its Northamptonshire roots to nearby counties such as Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Oxfordshire. Variations in spelling included Besy, Bessey, and Bessy.

In the 15th century, the surname Bessie can be found in the records of the University of Oxford, with a John Bessie being admitted as a scholar to New College in 1472. A few decades later, in 1499, a Robert Bessie is recorded as a landowner in the village of Weston Turville, Buckinghamshire.

Notable individuals with the surname Bessie over the centuries include:

1. Sir John Bessie (c. 1540-1612), an English politician who served as Member of Parliament for Bedfordshire in 1589.

2. Thomas Bessie (c. 1570-1637), an English clergyman who became the Archdeacon of Lincoln in 1629.

3. Edward Bessie (1605-1678), an English lawyer and landowner from Northamptonshire.

4. Samuel Bessie (1762-1843), a British naval officer who served in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars.

5. Arabella Bessie (1824-1898), an English novelist and poet known for her works on rural life and nature.

While the surname Bessie was once prevalent in parts of central and southern England, it has become relatively uncommon in more recent times, though pockets of the name still exist in areas like Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bessie

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Bessie.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Bessie was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Bessie has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Bessie was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Bessie, please contact us.

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