Tess
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "to gather, to harvest".
Name Census estimates that about 13,735 living Americans carry the first name Tess. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tess today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tess births was 1992 (529 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tess. 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 Tess with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
14K
~ 1 in 24,955 Americans
Peak year
1992
529 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,784
Tracked since 1889
Census
Tess in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 14,809 people with the first name Tess, which placed it at #1,910 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
#1,910
National first-name rank
People counted
15K
14,809 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
4.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
82.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tess
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tess is White at 82.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.8%). 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 Tess 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 Tess at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.3% · 12,190
- Hispanic or Latino5.2% · 770
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.8% · 704
- Two or more races4.1% · 604
- Black or African American3.2% · 477
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 64
Popularity
Tess: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tess from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 4,557 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tess 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 Tess during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tess' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 44 states and territories. California, New York, Massachusetts recorded the most babies named Tess, while South Carolina, Nevada, Maine recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 250 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tess
The name Tess is a diminutive form of the feminine name Teresa, which originated from the Greek name Theresia. The root of the name is the Greek word "therizo," meaning "to harvest." This name was derived from the Greek island of Thera, now known as Santorini.
In ancient times, the name Teresa was associated with Saint Teresa of Avila, a prominent Spanish mystic and author who lived from 1515 to 1582. She was a reformer of the Carmelite Order and is honored as a Doctor of the Church. The name Teresa gained popularity throughout Europe during the medieval period due to her influence.
The shortened form, Tess, emerged in the 19th century as a diminutive of Teresa. One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Tess was in the novel "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" by Thomas Hardy, published in 1891. The protagonist, Tess Durbeyfield, was a pivotal character in the book, which explored themes of social class and moral ambiguity in Victorian England.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Tess. Tess Daly, born in 1969, is an English model and television presenter known for co-hosting the popular BBC dance competition show "Strictly Come Dancing." Tess Holliday, born in 1985, is an American model and body positivity activist who has been instrumental in promoting size inclusivity in the fashion industry.
Another prominent figure with the name Tess was Tess Slesinger, an American writer and screenwriter born in 1905. She was known for her novels and short stories that explored themes of feminism and social justice. Tess Schlesinger, born in 1960, is an Australian author and academic who has written extensively on feminist theory and philosophy.
Additionally, Tess Gerritsen, born in 1953, is an American novelist and former physician. She is best known for her series of novels featuring the character Jane Rizzoli, which have been adapted into the popular television series "Rizzoli & Isles."
The name Tess has a rich history and cultural significance, spanning from its Greek origins to its modern usage as a diminutive form. It has been borne by influential women in literature, entertainment, activism, and academia, reflecting the diverse and enduring appeal of this name.
People
Tess + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tess as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Tess: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tess?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 13,735 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tess 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 24,955 US residents.
Is Tess a common name?
We classify Tess as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 14,653 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tess most popular?
The single biggest year for Tess was 1992, when 529 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tess is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tess in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 14,809 people with the name Tess, or 4.90 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,910 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 Tess 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 Tess?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tess appears almost entirely female. Of the 14,814 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Tess?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tess is White at 82.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.8%). 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 Tess most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Tess in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.3% (12,190 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 Tess in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tess a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tess 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 Tess still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tess 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 Tess 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 share the name Tess?
Want to know how many Americans are named Tess? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.