The Bessa surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 253 people carried this name — #76,029 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 1,111,100 people counted. That is up 20% from 210 in 2000.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
209 people named Bessa live in Switzerland.
They live in 13 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 111 people named Bessa live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 89 people named Bessa.
Most of them — 48 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 9 départements, most often Essonne.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
Who carried it
People named Bessa,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Pancrace Bessa 1772–1846 · illustrator -
Francisco Pinto Bessa 1821–1878 · politician -
Manuel Jorge Forbes de Bessa 1864–1934 · lawyer -
Manuel Jorge Forbes de Bessa 1864–1934 · lawyer
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Agustina Bessa-Luís 1922–2019 · screenwriter -
Alberto Bessa 1861–1938 · poet
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Bessa.
- Bery 186 · U.S. census
- Berzin 126 · U.S. census
- Besancon 510 · U.S. census
- Besch 1,054 · U.S. census
- Bescher 100 · U.S. census
- Besozzi 109 · U.S. census
- Bessard 362 · U.S. census
- Besse 1,497 · U.S. census
- Bessette 4,469 · U.S. census
- Bessey 1,607 · U.S. census
- Besson 859 · U.S. census
- Best 37,923 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Bessa is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.