Bess Armstrong
There are approximately 1 people named Bess Armstrong living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Bess with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Armstrong. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and ancestry information.
Expected bearers
1
1 in 342,754,338
Named Bess
1.3K
Alive today
Named Armstrong
157K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 1.3K
Rarity: Rare
Gender: Female
Peak year: 1889
Average age: 54
Estimated bearers: 157K
Rarity: Common
Census rank: #213
Per 100K: 45.78
Top ancestry: White (72.4%)
First name trend
Bess: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Bess. The peak year was 1889 with 182 births. The average person named Bess today is 54 years old.
Babies born per year
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Armstrong surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Armstrong, from the 2010 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 72.4%.
- White72.4%
- Black or African American21.0%
- Hispanic or Latino2.8%
- Two or more races2.3%
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9%
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6%
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Bess has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0004% of the US population, based on 1,328 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
The surname Armstrong appears at a rate of 45.78 per 100,000 residents in the 2010 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0458%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 1 people with the full name Bess Armstrong. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people with the surname Armstrong
FAQ
Bess Armstrong: questions and answers
How many people are named Bess Armstrong?
We estimate approximately 1 people in the United States share the full name Bess Armstrong. That works out to about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0004%) with the surname frequency (45.78 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Bess Armstrong?
We classify Bess Armstrong as "Very Rare". About 1 in 342,754,338 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Bess a male or female name?
Bess is predominantly female. Out of 7,171 total SSA registrations, 0.1% were male and 99.9% were female. See the full Bess profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2010 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.