Wesson
Wesson was the 919th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 257 babies. Its best year was 2021, when it ranked 802nd with 306 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 154 places. More babies were named Wesson in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning Meaning disputed · English
Say it WES-un /ˈwɛsən/
- Rank in 2025
- #919 boys, down 67 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 257boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2021306 babies
- Total since 1880
- 3,224babies recorded
What does the name Wesson mean?
Wesson is an English surname, and the sources explain it in two different ways. Harrison's dictionary (1918) treats it as a worn-down form of Weston, a common English place-name from Old English west 'west' and tūn 'farmstead, settlement'. Wiktionary instead reads it as a patronymic, 'son of Wes', with Wes as a pet form of Wesley. As a first name it is a recent transfer from the surname, and its sound links it with Wes and Wesley.
west (Old English, “west”)tūn (Old English, “enclosure, farmstead, settlement”)
How sure is this? Disputed. Harrison derives it from the place-name Weston; Wiktionary from Wes + -son.
Related names: Weston, Wes, Wesley.
See also: English names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Wesson', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Wiktionary, entry 'Weston', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Henry Harrison, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary, vol. 2 (1918), s.v. 'WESSON', Morland Press (public domain; Internet Archive scan)
- CMU Pronouncing Dictionary (cmudict), Carnegie Mellon University
Nicknames for Wesson
The usual nicknames for Wesson are Wes. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named Wesson in the last five years, 125 were named Wes, against 1736 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wes · also for Wesley, Weston, Westley | Modern | #716 | 1,615 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Wessons go by each one.
Wesson popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 5 since 2019.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #919 | 257 |
| 2020 | #852 | 268 |
| 2010 | #3,233 | 35 |
| 2000 | — | — |
| 1990 | — | — |
| 1980 | — | — |
| 1970 | — | — |
| 1960 | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Wesson, counting every spelling?
Wesson is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #884 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #919 for Wesson on its own. Together these spellings went to 257 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wesson | 257 | #919 | 1,293 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Wesson?
257 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Wesson (0.07 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Wesson born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 33 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Wesson.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Wesson?
About 3,200 people born in the US named Wesson are alive today, with a median age of 7; half are between 4 and 10. That makes Wesson a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Wesson by state
How common Wesson was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Mississippi (4.0×), Arkansas (3.1×), Kentucky (2.7×), Tennessee (2.4×), Alabama (2.2×). In 18 states fewer than five boys a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Wesson: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Wesson, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Wesson · Sibling names for Wesson
Questions about the name Wesson
What does Wesson mean?
The meaning of Wesson is disputed: Harrison derives it from the place-name Weston; Wiktionary from Wes + -son.
How popular is the name Wesson?
Wesson was the 919th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 257 babies. Its best year was 2021, when it ranked 802nd with 306 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 154 places. More babies were named Wesson in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Wesson a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Wesson in the US.
Where is Wesson most popular?
In 2021–2025, Wesson was most common in Mississippi (0.60 per 1,000 boys), followed by Arkansas and Kentucky.