Recorded 1889–2025 · United States
Tess was most popular in 1992, when 529 American babies were given the name — ranking #895 that year. In 2025 it ranked #3,252, with 113 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 14,770 people named Tess.
Tess first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1889, which makes it about 136 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 123 of the 137 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 14,770 American births named Tess between 1880 and 2025. That is recorded US births, not a world population — it counts people issued a Social Security number at birth in the United States. Of those, roughly 14,058 are estimated to be alive today.
113 American babies were named Tess in 2025, ranking #3,252 that year.
Tess is falling. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 119 births a year, against 251 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of -53% over the decade.
Measured on recorded births. American births overall have fallen since 2007, so most established names lose births over any recent decade — a name can shed births and still hold its rank. Compare the rank above, which is measured against the other names of the same year.
Across the whole record Tess is a girl’s name — 100.0% of the 14,770 Americans given it were girls and 0.0% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 100% girls and 0% boys.
Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.
Roughly 14,058 Americans named Tess are alive today — 95% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 26 years old, and half are between 18 and 34.
An estimate, not a count. Recorded births are carried forward through the Social Security Administration’s 2023 period life table, by age and sex. That table describes mortality in one recent year, so it credits the oldest cohorts with today’s survival rather than the harsher rates they actually lived through — the further back a name peaked, the more this will overstate how many remain. It counts people issued a Social Security number at birth, not immigrants who arrived later.
How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.
See Tess on the interactive charts
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Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org