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Jessica

girl name
Origin
Hebrew
Syllables
3
Peak era
1990s
Today
▼ Cooling

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Meaning

probably adapted by Shakespeare from Hebrew Iscah, meaning to behold

Goes by Jess, Jessie. See all nicknames

The story

Shakespeare's Jessica would rather stay out of the light. In The Merchant of Venice, Shylock's daughter dresses as a boy to elope with Lorenzo, then objects when she is asked to carry a torch. Being seen is precisely what she wants to avoid. There is a small irony for a name probably drawn from biblical Iscah, whose Hebrew sense is "to behold." Shakespeare could have encountered the forms Jescha or Jischa in translations, although the connection remains probable. Another Jessica appears in a very different daughter story. Dickey Betts recalled his little girl crawling up while he played guitar, helping a composition fall into place; he named the instrumental after her. It appeared on the Allman Brothers Band's Brothers and Sisters in 1973. One daughter tries to escape notice onstage; the other is remembered in music without needing a lyric.

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Jessica in song

Jessica
The Allman Brothers Band (1973)
Dickey Betts named this instrumental after his young daughter Jessica. He recalled her crawling up while he played guitar, helping the composition fall into place.

In literature since at least 1600: The Merchant of Venice (Shakespeare), 1600 quarto.

How popular is Jessica around the world?

In the United States, 3,557 babies were named Jessica between 2020 and 2025. At the 2022 census, 450,167 people in Brazil were named Jessica, the 54th most common name, with a median age of 28.

Jessica is on the official records of the United States, Brazil, Scotland, South Australia, England and Wales, Spain, Ireland, Montevideo, New Zealand, Mexico City, Canada, Norway, Austria, Chile, France, Argentina and Poland.

Jessica crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of an English-speaking birth record, of a Spanish-speaking one and of Brazil’s 2022 census, which counts people of every age. The full lists: English and Spanish · English and Portuguese · Spanish and Portuguese

United States

1 in 6,100

In the United States, 3,557 babies were named Jessica between 2020 and 2025.

1890speak 1990s

Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Jessica peaked in the 1990s. Jessica went to 1,592 US babies in 2015 and 424 in 2025, 27% of the earlier figure.

Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration

See the full list for the United States →

Brazil

1 in 450

At the 2022 census, 450,167 people in Brazil were named Jessica, the 54th most common name, with a median age of 28.
Among people named Jessica living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.

1940speak 1990s2010s

people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth

The census also counted 1,859 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022

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Scotland

1 in 570

In Scotland, 80 girls named Jessica were registered in 2024, the 48th most common name among girls that year.

1974peak 2014

share of that year’s name registrations

Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names

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South Australia

1 in 880 · 2017

In South Australia, 21 girls were registered as Jessica in 2017.

1944peak 19912017

share of that year’s name registrations

Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names

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England and Wales

1 in 1,600

In England and Wales, 360 girls named Jessica were born in 2025, the 139th most common name among girls that year.

peak 19962025

share of that year’s name registrations

Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales

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Spain

1 in 1,700

In Spain, 26,643 residents are named Jessica, the 160th most common name among women, with a mean age of 34.7 years.

Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025

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Ireland

1 in 1,700

In Ireland, 32 girls named Jessica were born in 2025, the 141st most common name among girls that year.

1964peak 19952025

share of that year’s name registrations

Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names

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Montevideo City

1 in 2,200 · 2011

In Montevideo, 11 girls named Jessica were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.

1940peak 19922011

share of that year’s births on record

Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial

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New Zealand

1 in 3,000

In New Zealand, 19 girls named Jessica were registered in 2025.

1950peak 19902025

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time

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Mexico City City

1 in 3,900

In Mexico City, there were 30 registrations of Jessica in 2022.

peak 20002022

share of that year’s registrations in the city

Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023 (3 registrations through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023

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Canada

1 in 5,000

In Canada, 73 girls named Jessica were born in 2024, the 407th most common name among girls that year.

peak 19912024

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)

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Norway

1 in 5,300 · register 2026

In Norway, 5 girls were given the name Jessica in 2025.

1960peak 2010

share of the girls on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure

People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)

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Austria

1 in 7,600

In Austria, 10 girls named Jessica were born in 2025, the 474th most common name among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.

1984peak 19952025

share of that year’s births on record

Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)

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Chile

1 in 13,000

In Chile, 14 girls were registered as Jessica in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.

1940peak 19792021

share of that year’s name registrations

First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021

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France

1 in 18,000

In France, about 35 girls named Jessica were born in 2025, ranked 1,029th among girls that year.

1950peak 19842025

share of that year’s births on record

Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)

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Argentina

1 in 26,000

In Argentina, 25 newborns were given the name Jessica in 2024.

2012peak 20162024

share of that year’s name registrations

Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024

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Poland

1 in 31,000

In Poland, 8 girls named Jessica were born in 2025, the 381st most common name among girls that year.

2000peak 20072025

share of that year’s name registrations

First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)

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New South Wales

outside the top 100

Jessica is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.

1970peak 19912025

share of that year’s top-100 registrations

New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names

See the full list for New South Wales →

Puerto Rico

last on record 2013

Jessica is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 290 babies have carried the name there since 1998.

peak 19982025

share of that year’s births on record

First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)

See the full list for Puerto Rico →

All records: the most popular baby names around the world →

When you meet Jessica

Most people given the name Jessica in the United States were born between 1980 and 1999. The Jessica you meet today is most often in her 30s or 40s.

Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.

Names that fit alongside Jessica

Elizabeth Sara Gabriella Rachel Eliana Daniella

Keep exploring

Nicknames for Jessica · English-Brazilian names · Chinese American baby names · Climbers and fallers

Name trails: explore connections from Jessica →

The Jessica deep dive

Written for you · $1.99 →

Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Jessica truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Jessica fits with your family’s names and surname.

Both reports, explained →

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