Girl · Hebrew, through English literature
Jessica
Say it: JES-ih-kuh
Meaning
Probably created by Shakespeare for The Merchant of Venice, likely from biblical Iscah (spelled Jesca in some English Bibles). The popular meaning 'God beholds' rests on one uncertain reading of Iscah.
Likelythe main view, with some doubt.
Rare until the 20th century, it was one of the two most popular US girls' names in the 1980s and 1990s.
Its wave through time
A fashion of the 1980s
In the United States
- 1,051,458 babies given this name since 1880
- At its height in 1987, about 1 in 31 girls
- 775 babies in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Jesica
| German | Jessica |
|---|---|
| Italian | Jessica |
Famous bearers
- Jessica Tandy, English-American actress
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- Well-known works of literature
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.