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Ness

#9,450 in 2025UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Multiple documented origins; meaning depends on tradition

Ness has been given to 104 babies in the U.S. since 2004. In 2025 it ranked #9,450 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2018, with 13 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 92% boys, 8% girls all-time.

Babies named Ness, 2025

1 in 414,000

Ness over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
05101518801900192019401960198020002020

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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Ness over time

In 2025, Ness went to 50% girls and 50% boys.

20042025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Ness: meaning, origin, and history

Multiple documented origins; meaning depends on tradition

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Ness means

Ness has more than one naming route in the cited origin entries: distinct naming traditions.

The naming story behind Ness

A separate documented entry treats Ness as a form of Neasa. That is a personal-name relationship, which differs from translating the letters of the modern spelling into one universal English word. The linked origin entry identifies the context of this relationship.

A separate documented entry treats Ness as a short form of Vanessa. That is a personal-name relationship, which differs from translating the letters of the modern spelling into one universal English word. The linked origin entry identifies the context of this relationship.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 96 boys were recorded with the name Ness between 2004 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 13 in 2018; its best national rank was #6,587 in 2018.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #7,898 in 2020 to #9,450 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #13,464 in 2015 to #9,450 in 2025.

In the United States, 8 girls were recorded with the name Ness between 2025 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 8 in 2025; its best national rank was #11,631 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.

How common is Ness?

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

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 414,000
8 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 213,000
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#9,450
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
287,238 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Ness sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

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 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 287,238 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Ness. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Nesss were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Ness was born before 2019 — so the typical Ness is around 6 today.

Median birth year
2019
About 6 years old
Biggest decade
2020s
49.0% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
100.0%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
96
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2020s — 49.0% of all recorded uses (47).

Is Ness 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
+4,196
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
−1,552
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
+4,014
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
1.60×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
61.5%
Peak was 2018 (13)
Years since peak
7
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
48.1% average annual change
Best rank ever
#6,587
2018

Spellings of Ness

Ness is not the most common spelling — Jesse is, with 41.4% against Ness's <0.01%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Ness around the world

Where Ness 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.

  • France
    2000–2025
    #4,475
    in 2025

Popularity data from Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0.

Ness by the numbers

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

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#9,450
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 1,552
Best rank ever
#6,587
2018
Peak year
2018
13 that year
First recorded
2004
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
96
Count in 2025
8

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#11,631
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
New entry
Best rank ever
#11,631
2025
Peak year
2025
8 that year
First recorded
2025
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
8
Count in 2025
8

Names similar to Ness

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

NestaNesiahNesterWessNesbitNessiahLessNesanelBlessUlessNesbyNeshawnPressArlessUlyessTyressChessNesbittLawlessHessCyressNeseanSuccessUyless

Sibling names for Ness

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 Ness

Top names of 2018, Ness's peak yearThe 2010s in fullOther names that peaked in 2018Boys' names starting with N