# Essex (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/essex/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | English |
| Meaning | “east saxons” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈɛs.ɪks/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 443 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 435 / 8 (2% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | not in the ONS data |

## Etymology

Inherited from Old English Ēastseaxan (literally “East Saxons”), which stood for both Essex and the people of Essex.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 8 | 11,520 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | 8 | 5,009 |
| 2001 | 7 | 8,588 |
| 2004 | 5 | 11,912 |
| 2008 | 5 | 13,147 |
| 2009 | 5 | 13,060 |
| 2011 | 5 | 12,881 |
| 2013 | 5 | 12,713 |
| 2015 | 6 | 11,103 |
| 2016 | 6 | 11,147 |
| 2017 | 6 | 11,183 |
| 2021 | 11 | 7,249 |
| 2022 | 12 | 6,944 |
| 2023 | 16 | 5,738 |
| 2024 | 17 | 5,507 |
| 2025 | 21 | 4,758 |

## In other languages

- Norwegian: Essex

## People named Essex

- Essex Hemphill, American poet and writer (1957–1995)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.