The first name Bess
A girl’s name.
Pronounced /bɛs/ 1 syllable Female Also a surname
Meaning and origin
Variant of Beth, a clipping of Elizabeth.
Bess is a short form of
.From Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity
Babies registered in England and Wales, 1996–2025
Bess last appeared in the official list in 2024, given to 3 girls. It peaked in 2014, with 14 births (#1,966).
Office for National Statistics; years with fewer than three births are not published and show as zero. Compare Bess with other names.
Popularity in the United States
Babies named Bess at birth, 1880–2025
In 2025, 5 girls born in the United States were named Bess, the 15,307th most popular girls’ name that year. It was used most in 1889, when 182 were.
US Social Security Administration, from applications for a Social Security card. A name is only published for a year when at least five babies were given it, so quieter years show as zero.
Famous people named Bess
5 on Wikidata, most written-about first
- Bess TrumanFirst Lady of the United States from 1945 to 1953
- Bess ArmstrongAmerican actress, born 1953
- Bess MeredythFilm actress, Film writer (1890-1969)
- Bess FlowersAmerican actress (1898–1984)
- Bess MyersonAmerican model, city commissioner, TV show celebrity; first Jewish-American and first Miss, 1924–2014
Questions
- What does the name Bess mean?
- Variant of Beth, a clipping of Elizabeth.
- How popular is the name Bess?
- In 2024, 3 girls born in England and Wales were named Bess, ranking 5,891st. Its peak was 2014, with 14 births.
- Is Bess a boy's or a girl's name?
- Mostly a girl's name: 100% of the 7,176 US babies named Bess since 1880 were girls.
- When was Bess most popular?
- 1889 in the United States, when 182 babies were named Bess, its highest rank at 164th.
- How do you pronounce Bess?
- Bess is /bɛs/, one syllable.
- Is Bess also a surname?
- Yes. Bess is used as a surname as well as a first name; its surname page has the origin and how many people carry it.