Essence

#1,163 for girls in 2025, 199 births · #10,695 for boys in 2025, 6 births
Given to girls 99.8% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · girls
1998 · 565 births
Debut · girls
8 births
In top 100 · girls
never
of 146 years
Total births · girls
10,744
since 1973

Essence over time

girls

Rank among girls' names. Essence has never cracked the top 400 here.

#1#10#100#1,000#10,000rank188019001920194019601980200020202007peak #456, 1998girls
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.

Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.

Show data table
Yeargirlsboys
rankbirthsrankbirths
2025#1,163199#10,6956
2024#1,085228#10,9386
2023#1,012250—
2022#1,015256—
2021#1,441149#12,1465
2020#1,227186—
2019#1,474149—
2018#1,425155—
2017#1,495148—
2016#1,614136—
2015#1,464157—
2014#1,270189—
2013#1,192201—
2012#1,096225—
2011#1,019245—
2010#1,015247—
2009#1,006263—
2008#977274—
2007#944287—
2006#838320—
2005#928268—
2004#813308—
2003#749333—
2002#846273—
2001#741322—
2000#583447—
1999#491529—
1998#456565—
1997#542440—
1996#542431—
1995#490502—
1994#775262—
1993#817245—
1992#876226—
1991#973193—
1990#1,219138—
1989#1,383109—
1988#1,384102—
1987#1,40495—
1986#1,40591—
1985#1,71067—
1984#1,44680—
1983#1,220104—
1982#1,60872—
1981#2,08549—
1980#2,15447—
1979#1,97752—
1978#2,35038—
1977#3,08325—
1976#3,09523—
1975#3,63718—
1974#3,55818—
1973#6,0808—
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First appearance
1973

The first year at least five girls were named Essence! It came in at #6,080, and was given to 8 baby girls.


Quietest stretch: 1973, when fewer than 9 girls a year got the name.

Where Essence is popular in 2007

  • Rank in state
  • Top 10
  • 11–50
  • 51–100
  • 101–500
  • 501+
  • Not published
Alaska: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedAKMaine: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedMEVermont: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedVTNew Hampshire: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedNHWashington: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedWAIdaho: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedIDMontana: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedMTNorth Dakota: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedNDMinnesota: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedMNIllinois: #1,059 for girls · 10 births · 1 in 6,773 girlsILWisconsin: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedWIMichigan: #767 for girls · 10 births · 1 in 4,571 girlsMINew York: #758 for girls · 22 births · 1 in 4,443 girlsNYMassachusetts: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedMARhode Island: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedRIOregon: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedORNevada: #601 for girls · 5 births · 1 in 2,546 girlsNVWyoming: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedWYSouth Dakota: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedSDIowa: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedIAIndiana: #578 for girls · 11 births · 1 in 3,013 girlsINOhio: #1,002 for girls · 8 births · 1 in 7,170 girlsOHPennsylvania: #1,215 for girls · 6 births · 1 in 9,356 girlsPANew Jersey: #582 for girls · 13 births · 1 in 3,169 girlsNJConnecticut: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedCTCalifornia: #1,673 for girls · 16 births · 1 in 14,766 girlsCAUtah: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedUTColorado: #786 for girls · 6 births · 1 in 4,144 girlsCONebraska: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedNEMissouri: #811 for girls · 6 births · 1 in 4,941 girlsMOKentucky: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedKYWest Virginia: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedWVVirginia: #906 for girls · 7 births · 1 in 5,496 girlsVAMaryland: #785 for girls · 6 births · 1 in 4,280 girlsMDDelaware: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedDEArizona: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedAZNew Mexico: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedNMKansas: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedKSArkansas: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedARTennessee: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedTNNorth Carolina: #556 for girls · 17 births · 1 in 2,830 girlsNCSouth Carolina: #261 for girls · 17 births · 1 in 1,115 girlsSCDistrict of Columbia: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedDCOklahoma: #417 for girls · 10 births · 1 in 1,780 girlsOKLouisiana: #520 for girls · 9 births · 1 in 2,353 girlsLAMississippi: #520 for girls · 6 births · 1 in 2,124 girlsMSAlabama: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedALGeorgia: #579 for girls · 19 births · 1 in 2,854 girlsGAHawaii: fewer than 5 girls named Essence, so not publishedHITexas: #1,189 for girls · 21 births · 1 in 8,055 girlsTXFlorida: #1,060 for girls · 13 births · 1 in 6,868 girlsFL

Hover or tap a state for its numbers.

Top states · girls
  1. South Carolina#261 · 1 in 1,115
  2. Oklahoma#417 · 1 in 1,780
  3. Mississippi#520 · 1 in 2,124
  4. Louisiana#520 · 1 in 2,353
  5. North Carolina#556 · 1 in 2,830

Best ever in a state: #146 in South Carolina, 1995.

Show every state
StateRankBirthsShare
South Carolina#261171 in 1,115
Oklahoma#417101 in 1,780
Louisiana#52091 in 2,353
Mississippi#52061 in 2,124
North Carolina#556171 in 2,830
Indiana#578111 in 3,013
Georgia#579191 in 2,854
New Jersey#582131 in 3,169
Nevada#60151 in 2,546
New York#758221 in 4,443
Michigan#767101 in 4,571
Maryland#78561 in 4,280
Colorado#78661 in 4,144
Missouri#81161 in 4,941
Virginia#90671 in 5,496
Ohio#1,00281 in 7,170
Illinois#1,059101 in 6,773
Florida#1,060131 in 6,868
Texas#1,189211 in 8,055
Pennsylvania#1,21561 in 9,356
California#1,673161 in 14,766
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Ranks are within each state; “1 in N” is out of the girls born there that year. The SSA only publishes a name in a state when 5 or more babies of one sex got it.

See more about Essence
Momentum · girls
Holding steady
  • 78 spots since 2024 (#1,085 → #1,163)
  • 64 spots since 2020 (#1,227 → #1,163)
  • 301 spots since 2015 (#1,464 → #1,163)
  • Biggest jump: 285 spots in 1995 (#775 → #490)
  • Biggest drop: 158 spots in 2001 (#583 → #741)
Rise & fade · girls
25 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1973
  • Peaked 1998 at #456 (565 births)
  • Births halved by 2002, 4 yrs later
Top of the charts · girls
Top 1,000 for 18 yrs
  • Top 10: never
  • Top 100: never
  • Top 1,000: 18 yrs · run 1991–2008
Share of babies · girls
1 in 3,127
  • Highest: 1 in 3,127 girls born in 1998 were named Essence (0.03%)
  • Latest: 1 in 8,077 girls born in 2025 (0.01%)
Era · girls
The 1990s
  • 32.9% of all girls named Essence (3,531) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1970s182#1,977 (1979)#3,397
1980s816#1,220 (1983)#1,580
1990s3,531#456 (1998)#718
2000s3,095#583 (2000)#843
2010s1,852#1,015 (2010)#1,306
2020s1,268#1,012 (2023)#1,157

All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 girls in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.

Essence in 2007

girls
#944
287 births · 1 in 6,699 girls

Top girls' names in 2007

  1. #1Emily19,367
  2. #2Isabella19,143
  3. #3Emma18,390
  4. #4Ava18,053
  5. #5Madison17,968
  6. #6Sophia17,031
  7. #7Olivia16,589
  8. #8Abigail15,476
  9. #9Hannah13,323
  10. #10Elizabeth13,071
  11. #944Essence287
More about 2007

girls

1,922,617 girls got a published name in 2007; 1 in 6,699 of them was named Essence, which outranked 95.4% of the 20,584 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 8.8% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Essence
  1. #937Raina288
  2. #937Reina288
  3. #937Shirley288
  4. #944Essence287
  5. #944Kenia287
  6. #944Mina287
  7. #947Jaclyn286
  8. #947Janice286
  9. #947Rayne286

Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 2006
Risers
  1. ↑ 16,568Jaslene#17,168 → #600
  2. ↑ 5,379Marely#6,125 → #746
  3. ↑ 2,556Audrina#3,264 → #708
  4. ↑ 2,506Jordin#3,090 → #584
  5. ↑ 1,358Azul#2,081 → #723
Fallers
  1. ↓ 4,216Bethzy#881 → #5,097
  2. ↓ 346Akeelah#708 → #1,054
  3. ↓ 326Tayla#926 → #1,252
  4. ↓ 312Betsy#747 → #1,059
  5. ↓ 295Shakira#780 → #1,075

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

See the top 100 for 2007 →