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Essence

#1,165 in 2025Girls' name

Odour, scent or fundamental quality

Essence has been given to 10,761 babies in the U.S. since 1973. In 2025 it ranked #1,165 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 1998, with 565 recorded.

Babies named Essence, 2025

1 in 16,700

Essence over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
020040060018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Essence: meaning, origin, and history

Odour, scent or fundamental quality

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Essence means

Essence means “odour, scent or fundamental quality”.

Origin, language, and formation

Essence is used in English.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 10,744 girls were recorded with the name Essence between 1973 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 565 in 1998; its best national rank was #457 in 1998.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #1,228 in 2020 to #1,165 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #1,465 in 2015 to #1,165 in 2025.

In the United States, 17 boys were recorded with the name Essence between 2021 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 6 in 2024; its best national rank was #11,074 in 2025.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Essence?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 16,700
199 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 8,080
0.01% of girls
Rank, 2025
#1,165
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
11,548 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Essence sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 5003%

Put another way: gather 11,548 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Essence. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Essences were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Essence was born before 2002 — so the typical Essence is around 23 today.

Median birth year
2002
About 23 years old
Biggest decade
1990s
32.9% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
53.7%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
10,744
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

1990s — 32.9% of all recorded uses (3,531).

Is Essence rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−80
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
+63
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
+300
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
1.27×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
35.2%
Peak was 1998 (565)
Years since peak
27
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
12.9% average annual change
Best rank ever
#457
1998

Where Essence is used

Across 2016–2025, Essence was most concentrated in Georgia — about 1 in 2,941 girls, against 1 in 8,532 across all states with data. It was least common in Washington (1 in 50,000).

234 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Georgia1 in 2,941
  2. 2Louisiana1 in 4,000
  3. 3Florida1 in 5,263
  4. 4North Carolina1 in 5,263
  5. 5South Carolina1 in 5,556
  6. 6Illinois1 in 5,882
  7. 7Alabama1 in 6,250
  8. 8Arkansas1 in 6,250

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Essence around the world

Where Essence ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    2001–2025
    #5,927
    in 2025
  • Canada
    1995–2024
    #3,457
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    2008–2008
    #796
    in 2008

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Notable people named Essence

People whose public names include Essence, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Essence by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#1,165
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 63
Best rank ever
#457
1998
Peak year
1998
565 that year
First recorded
1973
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
10,744
Count in 2025
199

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#11,074
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
New entry
Best rank ever
#11,074
2025
Peak year
2024
6 that year
First recorded
2021
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
17
Count in 2025
6

Names similar to Essence

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

EssynceKadenceEssanceCadencePatienceKaydencePrudenceEssieCaydenceKaidenceLawrenceKadynceCadanceFloranceKaydanceChanceBeyonceCaidenceTemperanceCandanceKaedenceTorranceClemenceClarence

Names with a curve like Essence

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Essence, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

MontanaKiannaYasmeenMireyaKatarinaYasmineTiannaMikaelaCarsonMarielaUniqueKatia

Sibling names for Essence

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Essence

Top names of 1998, Essence's peak yearThe 1990s in fullOther names that peaked in 1998Girls' names starting with E