Bessie

Bessie is a feminine given name, often a diminutive form (hypocorism) of Elizabeth, Beatrice and other names since the 16th century. It is sometimes a name in its own right.

Notable people with the name include:

• Bessie Abott (1878–1919), American operatic soprano
• Bessie Barriscale (1884–1965), American actress
• Elizabeth Blount (c. 1498/1502 – c. 1540), mistress of Henry VIII of England
• Bessie Braddock (1899–1970), British politician
• Bessie Christie (1904–1983), New Zealand painter
• Bessie Coleman (1892–1926), American civil aviator
• Annie Elizabeth Delany (1891–1995), American civil rights pioneer
• Bessie Drysdale (1871–1950), British teacher, suffragette and birth control campaigner
• Bessie Alexander Ficklen (1861–1945), American poet and artist
• Bessie Blount Griffin (1914–2009), American physical therapist, inventor, and forensic scientist
• Bessie Head (1937–1986), South African writer
• Bessilyn Johnson (1871–1943), wife of Chicago millionaire Albert Johnson
• Bessie Love (1898–1986), American-British actress
• Betty Mitchell (theatre director) (1896–1976), Canadian theatre director and educator
• Bessie Boehm Moore (1902–1995), American educator
• Diamond Bessie (1854–1877), American murder victim
• Bessie Rayner Parkes (1829–1925), English feminist, women's rights activist, poet, essayist and journalist
• Bessie Leach Priddy (1871–1935), educator, social reformer and leader of the Delta Delta Delta women's fraternity
• Bessie Smith (1894–1937), American blues singer
• Bessie Stringfield (1911–1993), American motorcyclist
• Bessie Potter Vonnoh (1872–1955), American sculptor
• Bessie (South African queen), South African traditional aristocrat

• Bessie Higgenbottom, a character in the TV animated series The Mighty B!
• Elizabeth Bessie Potter, a character on the TV series Dawson's Creek
• Bessie, a road paving machine in the 2006 animated film Cars
• Bessie Busybody, a character in the TV series LazyTown
• Bessie, a car in the TV series Doctor Who

• Bess (name)