Pessy
A feminine name of uncertain origin and meaning, possibly related to "peace".
Name Census estimates that about 1,140 living Americans carry the first name Pessy. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Pessy today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Pessy births was 2021 (63 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Pessy. 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 Pessy with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Pessy is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 16 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 300,662 Americans
Peak year
2021
63 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,998
Tracked since 1971
Census
Pessy in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 846 people with the first name Pessy, which placed it at #14,041 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
#14,041
National first-name rank
People counted
846
846 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
98.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pessy
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Pessy is White at 98.1%. The next largest groups are Black (0.6%) and Hispanic (0.6%). 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 Pessy 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 Pessy at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.1% · 830
- Black or African American0.6% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino0.6% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 2
- Two or more races0.1% · 1
Popularity
Pessy: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Pessy from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 430 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Pessy remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Pessy 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 Pessy during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Pessys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Pessy
The name Pessy has its origins in the ancient Sumerian language, which was spoken in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) around 3500 BC. It is believed to be derived from the Sumerian word "peshtu," which means "basket weaver" or "maker of baskets." The name was likely given to individuals who worked as basket weavers or were involved in the production of baskets, which were essential items in the daily lives of the Sumerians.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Pessy can be found in the Sumerian clay tablets from the city of Uruk, dating back to around 2500 BC. These tablets document the names of various individuals, including several people with the name Pessy, who were likely basket weavers or related to the basket-weaving trade.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the name Pessy. One of the most renowned was Pessy the Elder, a master basket weaver who lived in the city of Ur during the reign of King Shulgi (2094-2047 BC). Pessy the Elder was renowned for his intricate and beautiful baskets, which were highly prized by the nobility and used in religious ceremonies.
Another notable figure was Pessy of Nippur, a high-ranking priestess who lived in the city of Nippur during the Old Babylonian period (circa 1800 BC). Pessy of Nippur was known for her wisdom and expertise in religious rituals, and she was highly respected in her community.
In the 13th century BC, there was a notable figure named Pessy of Thebes, who was a renowned basket weaver in the city of Thebes in ancient Egypt. Pessy of Thebes was known for creating intricate and colorful baskets that were used in various religious ceremonies and as decorative items in the homes of the wealthy.
During the Hellenistic period (323-30 BC), there was a Greek philosopher named Pessy of Rhodes, who was known for his teachings on ethics and morality. Pessy of Rhodes was a student of the famous philosopher Aristotle and was highly respected for his contributions to philosophical thought.
Finally, in the 4th century AD, there was a Christian martyr named Pessy of Antioch, who was executed for her faith during the persecutions of the Roman Emperor Diocletian. Pessy of Antioch was known for her unwavering devotion to Christianity and her courage in the face of adversity, and she was later venerated as a saint by the Christian church.
People
Pessy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Pessy as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Pessy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Pessy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,140 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Pessy 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 300,662 US residents.
Is Pessy a common name?
We classify Pessy as "Rare". It ranks above 90.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,157 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Pessy most popular?
The single biggest year for Pessy was 2021, when 63 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Pessy is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Pessy in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 846 people with the name Pessy, or 0.28 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,041 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 Pessy 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 Pessy?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Pessy leans strongly female. 836 people counted with this name were female (98.8%), compared with 10 male bearers (1.2%). 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 Pessy?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Pessy is White at 98.1%. The next largest groups are Black (0.6%) and Hispanic (0.6%). 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 Pessy most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Pessy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.1% (830 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 Pessy in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Pessy a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Pessy 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 Pessy still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Pessy 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 Pessy 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 are called Pessy?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.