Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Bess?
Births per year, rank history and how many Besses are alive today.
Bess (female) is a shortened form of the name Elizabeth (and sometimes of Eliza or Betty). Although Bess itself was given to 3 babies in England and Wales in 2024 (ranked 5892nd as a registered name), most Besses are registered as Elizabeth, which ranked 74th in 2025 with 624 babies.
Most people called Bess are registered as Elizabeth, and share that name's profile: the Elizabeth you are most likely to meet is around 72 years old. Half of all Elizabeths born in England and Wales are between 41 and 76, and there are at least 250,000 of them alive today. Only some Elizabeths go by Bess.
How many babies are named Bess or Elizabeth each year?
Combined registrations of Elizabeth, Bess. Figures before 1996 are estimates.
Where does Elizabeth rank as a registered name?
Where does Bess rank as a registered name?
Where this data comes from
Figures from 1996 onwards are the Office for National Statistics' annual baby-name registrations for England and Wales, which record every name given to three or more babies in a year. Figures before 1996 are estimates: the ONS published only top-100 rankings at ten-year intervals back to 1904, so counts for those years are modelled from the rankings, calibrated against Douglas Galbi's long-run research into English name frequencies, and shown with an uncertainty band. Estimates of living bearers combine these birth figures with national life tables and ONS mid-year population estimates.
One limit worth naming: these figures count names as registered at birth. Anyone who changes their name later in life - including trans people, and anyone who adopts a different name by deed poll or simply by use - is not reflected here. Birth registrations record where a name began, not the name a person lives with.
Common questions
Is Bess short for Elizabeth?
Yes - Bess is a shortened form of Elizabeth. It is also used for Eliza and Betty. Besses are usually registered as Elizabeth at birth.
When was the name Bess most popular?
The full name Elizabeth peaked in 1904, when around 13,000 babies in England and Wales were given the name. Bess itself peaked as a registered name in 2014, with 14 babies.
How many people are called Bess?
There's no official count of people who go by Bess, because it's a nickname rather than a registered name. What we can say: at least 250,000 people registered as Elizabeth born in England and Wales are alive today, and some of them go by Bess.
How old is the typical Bess?
Most people called Bess are registered as Elizabeth. Most living Elizabeths are between 41 and 76; the most common age is about 72.
Is Bess becoming more or less popular?
Declining: recent figures are a fraction of the 1904 peak.