Essence
A feminine name derived from Latin origins meaning "intrinsic nature" or "fundamental quality".
Name Census estimates that about 10,317 living Americans carry the first name Essence. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Essence today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Essence births was 1998 (565 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Essence. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Essence with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
10K
~ 1 in 33,222 Americans
Peak year
1998
565 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,085
Tracked since 1973
Census
Essence in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 7,454 people with the first name Essence, which placed it at #3,003 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#3,003
National first-name rank
People counted
7.5K
7,454 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
80.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Essence
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Essence is Black at 80.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.2%) and Two or More Races (6.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Essence described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Essence at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American80.9% · 6,028
- Hispanic or Latino7.2% · 537
- Two or more races6.5% · 485
- White4.0% · 297
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 56
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 51
Gender
Gender distribution for Essence
Out of the 10,554 babies given the name Essence since 1880, 99.9% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Essence as a male name
- Ranked #11,300 in 2024
- 6 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (6 births)
Essence as a female name
- Ranked #1,085 in 2024
- 227 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1998 (565 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Essence appears almost entirely female. Of the 7,458 people counted with this name, 99.5% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Essence: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Essence from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 3,531 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Essence remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Essence by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Essence during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Essences live
The SSA's state-level files cover 34 states and territories. New York, California, Texas recorded the most babies named Essence, while Nevada, Delaware, Arizona recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 252 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Essence
The name Essence has its origins in the French language, where it is derived from the Latin word "essentia," meaning "being" or "inner nature." It entered the English lexicon in the 14th century as a noun denoting the indispensable quality or attribute that characterizes a particular thing or individual.
During the Middle Ages, the term "essence" was widely employed in philosophical and theological discourse, often referring to the immutable and fundamental aspect of an entity or concept. It featured prominently in the works of prominent thinkers such as Thomas Aquinas and Duns Scotus, who explored the metaphysical nature of essence and its relationship to existence.
The earliest recorded use of Essence as a given name dates back to the 16th century, when it was bestowed upon individuals as a symbolic representation of their intrinsic qualities or essence. One of the earliest notable individuals to bear this name was Essence Crispe, an English writer and poet born in 1532, whose works explored themes of self-discovery and inner truth.
In the 17th century, Essence gained popularity among Puritan communities in New England, where it was embraced as a virtuous and deeply meaningful name. Notable figures from this era include Essence Winthrop (1616-1672), the daughter of the influential governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, John Winthrop.
The 19th century witnessed a resurgence of interest in the name Essence, particularly among literary circles and individuals drawn to its philosophical connotations. One of the most celebrated figures of this period was Essence Emerson (1829-1892), the daughter of the renowned American philosopher and essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson, who was known for her own literary works and advocacy for women's rights.
In the early 20th century, the name Essence gained further traction as a symbol of individuality and self-expression. One notable figure from this era was Essence Stein (1901-1986), a French-American artist and writer associated with the Parisian avant-garde movement, who explored themes of identity and self-discovery in her works.
Another influential figure was Essence Wertmüller (1928-2021), an Italian film director and screenwriter, whose groundbreaking films challenged societal norms and celebrated the essence of human experience. Her 1977 film "Pasqualino Settebellezze" earned her the distinction of being the first woman ever nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director.
Throughout history, the name Essence has been imbued with a sense of depth, introspection, and a celebration of the unique qualities that define an individual. It has been embraced by individuals from diverse backgrounds who have left an indelible mark on the realms of literature, art, philosophy, and social progress.
People
Essence + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Essence as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Essence: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Essence?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10,317 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Essence going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 33,222 US residents.
Is Essence a common name?
We classify Essence as "Uncommon". It ranks above 97.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10,554 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Essence most popular?
The single biggest year for Essence was 1998, when 565 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Essence is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Essence in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 7,454 people with the name Essence, or 2.47 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,003 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Essence in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Essence?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Essence appears almost entirely female. Of the 7,458 people counted with this name, 99.5% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Essence?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Essence is Black at 80.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.2%) and Two or More Races (6.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Essence most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Essence in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.9% (6,028 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Essence in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Essence a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Essence in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Essence still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Essence in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Essence can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Essence?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.