Essence is an English word name that means "fundamental nature" or "concentrated fragrance", from the Latin essentia, being. It took off in the United States in the 1990s, encouraged by the African American lifestyle magazine Essence, and belongs to the family of virtue and concept names such as Destiny and Harmony. Essence peaked at number 583 in 2000, had slipped to number 1465 by 2015 and ranks 1165 in 2025.