Jessica
Jessica was the 665th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 424 babies. Its best year was 1985, when it ranked 1st; the most babies were born in 1987 (55,992). Over the last ten years it has moved down 459 places. More babies were named Jessica in the 1980s than in any other decade.
Meaning probably from biblical Iscah; coined by Shakespeare · Hebrew, English
Say it JES-ih-kuh /ˈdʒɛsɪkə/
- Rank in 2025
- #665 girls, down 266 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 424girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 198755,992 babies
- Total since 1880
- 1,054,307babies recorded
What does the name Jessica mean?
Jessica first appears in English as the name of Shylock's daughter in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. Wiktionary takes it to be Shakespeare's version of Iscah, a minor figure in Genesis 11:29, whose name was spelled Jescha in the Wycliffe Bible. Hebrew Yiskah is usually explained from a verb meaning to see or look out, so Wiktionary glosses the name "he will see" or "he will look." Wiktionary also notes that people later took Jessica as a longer form of Jessie, which is a folk etymology.
יִסְכָּה (Biblical Hebrew, “Iscah; from a root 'to see, look'”)
How sure is this? Probable. The link with Iscah is the standard explanation but rests on Shakespeare's likely source, not on his own statement.
Other explanations you may read: A long form of Jessie (from Jane/Janet). Jessica is older in English than that reading..
Related names: Jess, Jessie, Jessika, Iscah.
See also: Hebrew names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Jessica' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Genesis 11:29, The JPS Tanakh: Gender-Sensitive Edition (via Sefaria), Jewish Publication Society / Sefaria
Nicknames for Jessica
The usual nicknames for Jessica are Jess and Jessie. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Jessica in the last five years, 63 were named Jessie, against 6 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jess · also for Jesse, Jessie | Traditional | #9,747 | 41 |
| Jessie | Traditional | #824 | 1,745 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Jessicas go by each one.
Jessica popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 3,578 since 1963.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #665 | 424 |
| 2020 | #399 | 780 |
| 2010 | #92 | 3,200 |
| 2000 | #8 | 15,711 |
| 1990 | #1 | 46,486 |
| 1980 | #3 | 33,924 |
| 1970 | #98 | 4,021 |
| 1960 | #408 | 556 |
| 1950 | #400 | 402 |
| 1940 | #918 | 61 |
| 1930 | #1,222 | 38 |
| 1920 | #1,161 | 43 |
| 1910 | #821 | 28 |
| 1900 | #770 | 23 |
| 1890 | #627 | 18 |
| 1880 | #705 | 7 |
How popular is Jessica, counting every spelling?
Jessica is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #659 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #665 for Jessica on its own. Together these spellings went to 436 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jessica | 424 | #665 | 2,777 |
| Jessika | 7 | #12,479 | 27 |
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 Jessica?
424 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Jessica (0.12 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Jessica 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 20 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Jessica.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Jessica?
About 1,015,000 people born in the US named Jessica are alive today, with a median age of 39; half are between 33 and 44. That makes Jessica mostly worn by adults in their thirties to fifties.
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.
Jessica by state
How common Jessica was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Washington (1.7×), Maryland (1.6×), California (1.6×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Mississippi, Iowa, Kansas.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Jessica: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Jessica, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Jessica · Sibling names for Jessica
Questions about the name Jessica
What does Jessica mean?
Jessica means “probably from biblical Iscah; coined by Shakespeare” (Hebrew, English origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Jessica?
Jessica was the 665th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 424 babies. Its best year was 1985, when it ranked 1st; the most babies were born in 1987 (55,992). Over the last ten years it has moved down 459 places. More babies were named Jessica in the 1980s than in any other decade.
Is Jessica a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Jessica in the US.
Where is Jessica most popular?
In 2021–2025, Jessica was most common in Washington (0.59 per 1,000 girls), followed by Maryland and California.