Essence

#1,163 for girls in 2025, 199 births · #10,695 for boys in 2025, 6 births
Given to girls 99.8% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · girls
1998 · 565 births
Debut · girls
8 births
In top 100 · girls
never
of 146 years
Total births · girls
10,744
since 1973

Essence over time

girls

Rank among girls' names. Essence has never cracked the top 400 here.

#1#10#100#1,000#10,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201999peak #456, 1998girls
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.

Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.

Show data table
Yeargirlsboys
rankbirthsrankbirths
2025#1,163199#10,6956
2024#1,085228#10,9386
2023#1,012250—
2022#1,015256—
2021#1,441149#12,1465
2020#1,227186—
2019#1,474149—
2018#1,425155—
2017#1,495148—
2016#1,614136—
2015#1,464157—
2014#1,270189—
2013#1,192201—
2012#1,096225—
2011#1,019245—
2010#1,015247—
2009#1,006263—
2008#977274—
2007#944287—
2006#838320—
2005#928268—
2004#813308—
2003#749333—
2002#846273—
2001#741322—
2000#583447—
1999#491529—
1998#456565—
1997#542440—
1996#542431—
1995#490502—
1994#775262—
1993#817245—
1992#876226—
1991#973193—
1990#1,219138—
1989#1,383109—
1988#1,384102—
1987#1,40495—
1986#1,40591—
1985#1,71067—
1984#1,44680—
1983#1,220104—
1982#1,60872—
1981#2,08549—
1980#2,15447—
1979#1,97752—
1978#2,35038—
1977#3,08325—
1976#3,09523—
1975#3,63718—
1974#3,55818—
1973#6,0808—
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First appearance
1973

The first year at least five girls were named Essence! It came in at #6,080, and was given to 8 baby girls.


Quietest stretch: 1973, when fewer than 9 girls a year got the name.

Where Essence is popular in 1999

  • Rank in state
  • Top 10
  • 11–50
  • 51–100
  • 101–500
  • 501+
  • Not published
Alaska: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedAKMaine: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedMEVermont: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedVTNew Hampshire: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedNHWashington: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedWAIdaho: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedIDMontana: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedMTNorth Dakota: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedNDMinnesota: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedMNIllinois: #364 for girls · 37 births · 1 in 1,887 girlsILWisconsin: #447 for girls · 9 births · 1 in 2,804 girlsWIMichigan: #583 for girls · 13 births · 1 in 3,946 girlsMINew York: #366 for girls · 47 births · 1 in 2,124 girlsNYMassachusetts: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedMARhode Island: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedRIOregon: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedORNevada: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedNVWyoming: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedWYSouth Dakota: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedSDIowa: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedIAIndiana: #564 for girls · 9 births · 1 in 3,691 girlsINOhio: #436 for girls · 23 births · 1 in 2,676 girlsOHPennsylvania: #370 for girls · 26 births · 1 in 2,228 girlsPANew Jersey: #369 for girls · 19 births · 1 in 2,186 girlsNJConnecticut: #345 for girls · 8 births · 1 in 1,918 girlsCTCalifornia: #1,011 for girls · 28 births · 1 in 7,823 girlsCAUtah: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedUTColorado: #676 for girls · 6 births · 1 in 3,844 girlsCONebraska: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedNEMissouri: #434 for girls · 11 births · 1 in 2,660 girlsMOKentucky: #407 for girls · 8 births · 1 in 2,509 girlsKYWest Virginia: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedWVVirginia: #287 for girls · 23 births · 1 in 1,494 girlsVAMaryland: #402 for girls · 11 births · 1 in 2,177 girlsMDDelaware: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedDEArizona: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedAZNew Mexico: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedNMKansas: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedKSArkansas: #453 for girls · 5 births · 1 in 2,356 girlsARTennessee: #393 for girls · 13 births · 1 in 2,356 girlsTNNorth Carolina: #258 for girls · 33 births · 1 in 1,288 girlsNCSouth Carolina: #185 for girls · 21 births · 1 in 808 girlsSCDistrict of Columbia: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedDCOklahoma: #480 for girls · 7 births · 1 in 2,383 girlsOKLouisiana: #235 for girls · 21 births · 1 in 1,049 girlsLAMississippi: #331 for girls · 8 births · 1 in 1,476 girlsMSAlabama: #294 for girls · 14 births · 1 in 1,507 girlsALGeorgia: #274 for girls · 34 births · 1 in 1,345 girlsGAHawaii: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedHITexas: #649 for girls · 35 births · 1 in 4,206 girlsTXFlorida: #448 for girls · 28 births · 1 in 2,668 girlsFL

Hover or tap a state for its numbers.

Top states · girls
  1. South Carolina#185 · 1 in 808
  2. Louisiana#235 · 1 in 1,049
  3. North Carolina#258 · 1 in 1,288
  4. Georgia#274 · 1 in 1,345
  5. Virginia#287 · 1 in 1,494

Best ever in a state: #146 in South Carolina, 1995.

Show every state
StateRankBirthsShare
South Carolina#185211 in 808
Louisiana#235211 in 1,049
North Carolina#258331 in 1,288
Georgia#274341 in 1,345
Virginia#287231 in 1,494
Alabama#294141 in 1,507
Mississippi#33181 in 1,476
Connecticut#34581 in 1,918
Illinois#364371 in 1,887
New York#366471 in 2,124
New Jersey#369191 in 2,186
Pennsylvania#370261 in 2,228
Tennessee#393131 in 2,356
Maryland#402111 in 2,177
Kentucky#40781 in 2,509
Missouri#434111 in 2,660
Ohio#436231 in 2,676
Wisconsin#44791 in 2,804
Florida#448281 in 2,668
Arkansas#45351 in 2,356
Oklahoma#48071 in 2,383
Indiana#56491 in 3,691
Michigan#583131 in 3,946
Texas#649351 in 4,206
Colorado#67661 in 3,844
California#1,011281 in 7,823
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Ranks are within each state; “1 in N” is out of the girls born there that year. The SSA only publishes a name in a state when 5 or more babies of one sex got it.

See more about Essence
Momentum · girls
Holding steady
  • 78 spots since 2024 (#1,085 → #1,163)
  • 64 spots since 2020 (#1,227 → #1,163)
  • 301 spots since 2015 (#1,464 → #1,163)
  • Biggest jump: 285 spots in 1995 (#775 → #490)
  • Biggest drop: 158 spots in 2001 (#583 → #741)
Rise & fade · girls
25 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1973
  • Peaked 1998 at #456 (565 births)
  • Births halved by 2002, 4 yrs later
Top of the charts · girls
Top 1,000 for 18 yrs
  • Top 10: never
  • Top 100: never
  • Top 1,000: 18 yrs · run 1991–2008
Share of babies · girls
1 in 3,127
  • Highest: 1 in 3,127 girls born in 1998 were named Essence (0.03%)
  • Latest: 1 in 8,077 girls born in 2025 (0.01%)
Era · girls
The 1990s
  • 32.9% of all girls named Essence (3,531) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1970s182#1,977 (1979)#3,397
1980s816#1,220 (1983)#1,580
1990s3,531#456 (1998)#718
2000s3,095#583 (2000)#843
2010s1,852#1,015 (2010)#1,306
2020s1,268#1,012 (2023)#1,157

All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 girls in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.

Essence in 1999

girls
#491
529 births · 1 in 3,353 girls

Top girls' names in 1999

  1. #1Emily26,542
  2. #2Hannah21,679
  3. #3Alexis19,237
  4. #4Sarah19,119
  5. #5Samantha19,044
  6. #6Ashley18,136
  7. #7Madison18,054
  8. #8Taylor16,906
  9. #9Jessica16,350
  10. #10Elizabeth15,350
  11. #491Essence529
More about 1999

girls

1,773,823 girls got a published name in 1999; 1 in 3,353 of them was named Essence, which outranked 97.1% of the 16,947 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 10.7% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Essence
  1. #487Kiersten532
  2. #489Ebony530
  3. #489Tierra530
  4. #491Essence529
  5. #491Cora529
  6. #493Arielle527
  7. #493Phoebe527
  8. #495Shyanne525

Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1998
Risers
  1. ↑ 1,407Citlalli#2,338 → #931
  2. ↑ 1,329Noelia#2,048 → #719
  3. ↑ 1,060Amaya#1,458 → #398
  4. ↑ 864Kyara#1,789 → #925
  5. ↑ 604Journey#1,557 → #953
Fallers
  1. ↓ 579Erykah#779 → #1,358
  2. ↓ 417Tea#747 → #1,164
  3. ↓ 415Tasia#800 → #1,215
  4. ↓ 406Monika#930 → #1,336
  5. ↓ 357Chase#952 → #1,309

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

See the top 100 for 1999 →