Bessie Smith
There are approximately 142 people named Bessie Smith living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 2,413,763 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Bessie with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Smith. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
142
1 in 2,413,763
Named Bessie
18K
Alive today
Named Smith
2.7M
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 18K
Rarity: Uncommon
Gender: Female
Peak year: 1916
Average age: 76
Top Census group: Black or African American (45.1%)
Estimated bearers: 2.7M
Rarity: Very Common
Census rank: #1
Per 100K: 792.79
Top ancestry: White (68.0%)
First name trend
Bessie: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Bessie. The peak year was 1916 with 4,132 births. The average person named Bessie today is 76 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bessie
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Bessie, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is Black or African American at 45.1%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Bessie described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the name Bessie at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- Black or African American45.1% · 9,441
- White44.0% · 9,192
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 790
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.5% · 520
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.4% · 492
- Two or more races2.3% · 478
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Smith surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Smith, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 68.0%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Smith described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the surname Smith at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White68.0% · 1,611,236
- Black or African American22.6% · 535,967
- Two or more races4.4% · 103,611
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 82,947
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 19,744
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 16,139
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Bessie has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0052% of the US population, based on 17,942 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
Even though the Census Bureau now publishes first-name tables, we do not use that file as the main first-name input for this estimate. The latest first-name Census snapshot is from 2020, which makes it 6 years old today. Because Census first-name data is only released once every 10 years, SSA birth records plus CDC survival rates give a better current estimate of how many people are likely alive with the name Bessie right now.
The surname Smith appears at a rate of 792.79 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.7928%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 142 people with the full name Bessie Smith. 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 Smith
FAQ
Bessie Smith: questions and answers
How many people are named Bessie Smith?
We estimate approximately 142 people in the United States share the full name Bessie Smith. That works out to about 1 in 2,413,763 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0052%) with the surname frequency (792.79 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Bessie Smith?
We classify Bessie Smith as "Very Rare". About 1 in 2,413,763 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Bessie a male or female name?
Bessie is predominantly female. Out of 170,860 total SSA registrations, 0.4% were male and 99.6% were female. See the full Bessie 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 2020 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.
How many people are named Bessie Smith?
Find out how common the name Bessie Smith is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.