# Jessica (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/jessica/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | Hebrew |
| Meaning | “iscah in genesis 11:29”, “jescha in the wycliffe version”, “he will see/behold/look for”, “to see”, “behold”, “look for” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈd͡ʒɛsɪkə/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | Jessie |
| Variant spellings | Jessicah, Jessika, Jessikah, Jessicka, Jessickah, Jessiqa, Jessyca, Jessyka, Jesica, Jesika, Jesyca, Jesyka, Jezica, Jezika |
| US babies named this | 1,054,307 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 3,578 / 1,050,729 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 105,392, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

First used by William Shakespeare in Merchant of Venice in the early 17th century, probably from Hebrew יִסְכָּה (yiská, “Iscah in Genesis 11:29, Jescha in the Wycliffe version”), a proper name meaning "he will see/behold/look for", the 3ms imperfect form of a verb ultimately from the root ס־כ־ה (s-k-h), itself an alternative form of the root שׂ־כ־ה (ś-k-h), both of which mean "to see, behold, look for". * By folk etymology seen as an elaborate form of Jessie, from Jane.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 2,626 | 118 |
| 2012 | 2,335 | 137 |
| 2013 | 1,951 | 164 |
| 2014 | 1,804 | 179 |
| 2015 | 1,592 | 206 |
| 2016 | 1,392 | 231 |
| 2017 | 1,292 | 246 |
| 2018 | 1,065 | 313 |
| 2019 | 970 | 331 |
| 2020 | 780 | 399 |
| 2021 | 656 | 477 |
| 2022 | 620 | 508 |
| 2023 | 550 | 550 |
| 2024 | 527 | 575 |
| 2025 | 424 | 665 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 30 | 2,744 |
| 1999 | 28 | 2,977 |
| 2000 | 27 | 3,181 |
| 2001 | 27 | 3,270 |
| 2002 | 22 | 3,854 |
| 2003 | 17 | 4,700 |
| 2004 | 35 | 2,922 |
| 2005 | 19 | 4,549 |
| 2006 | 10 | 7,691 |
| 2007 | 13 | 6,428 |
| 2008 | 6 | 11,748 |
| 2009 | 10 | 7,975 |
| 2010 | 6 | 11,399 |
| 2011 | 9 | 8,384 |
| 2016 | 5 | 13,126 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 3,984 | 4 |
| 2012 | 4,165 | 3 |
| 2013 | 3,507 | 6 |
| 2014 | 2,995 | 8 |
| 2015 | 2,937 | 7 |
| 2016 | 2,703 | 8 |
| 2017 | 2,139 | 15 |
| 2018 | 1,812 | 25 |
| 2019 | 1,439 | 33 |
| 2020 | 1,156 | 37 |
| 2021 | 997 | 49 |
| 2022 | 698 | 69 |
| 2023 | 573 | 83 |
| 2024 | 483 | 95 |
| 2025 | 360 | 139 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: جِيسِيكَا
- Chinese: 傑西卡 /杰西卡
- Danish: Jessica
- Esperanto: Jiska
- Finnish: Jessika
- French: Jessica
- German: Jessica, Jessika
- Greek: Ιεσική
- Hindi: जेसिका
- Hungarian: Dzsesszika
- Italian: Gessica
- Japanese: ジェシカ
- Korean: 제시카
- Latvian: Jesika, Džesika
- Polish: Dżesika, Jessica
- Portuguese: Jéssica
- Romanian: Jessica
- Russian: Дже́ссика
- Spanish: Jéssica, Jésica, Yésica, Yéssica
- Swedish: Jessica, Jessika

## People named Jessica

- Jessica Alba, American actress and businesswoman (born 1981)
- Jessica Lange, American actress
- Jessica Simpson, American singer and actress
- Jessica Biel, American actress (born 1982)
- Sarah Jessica Parker, American actress (born 1965)
- Jessica Chastain, American actress and producer (born 1977)
- Jessica Tandy, British actress (1909–1994)
- Jessica Ennis-Hill, British heptathlete
- Jessica Szohr, American actress and model
- Jessica Capshaw, American actress (born 1976)
- Jessica Meir, American and Swedish astronaut (born 1977)
- Jessica Mauboy, Australian singer, songwriter and actress

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.