Jessie
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Meaning
originally a Scots pet form of Jean; now also used for Jessica, with a separate masculine use for Jesse
The story
Jessie is valuable enough to belong in a collector’s apartment, but she wants to make a child happy again. In Pixar’s Toy Story 2, Woody meets the cowgirl toy as part of a collection from the fictional television programme Woody’s Roundup. She has already had a child owner, been given to charity and spent years shut in a dark box. Jessie has several histories outside the toy cupboard, too: an older Scottish short form of Jean, a modern short form of Jessica, and a separate masculine variant of Jesse. Pixar describes the cowgirl as wary when a cowboy asks her to take a risk, though she still wants to give a child joy again. Woody encounters a prized collectible whose hopes reach beyond the collection, towards another chance to belong to a child.
The formal names behind Jessie
Jessie is an established short form of this name.
Jessica · Hebrew origin · probably adapted by Shakespeare from Hebrew Iscah, meaning to behold
Jessie in song
Jessie's Girl
Rick Springfield (1981)
Springfield wrote it about quietly coveting a friend's girlfriend in a stained glass class, and it won him a Grammy while he was also starring on General Hospital.
How popular is Jessie around the world?
In the United States, 3,034 babies were named Jessie between 2020 and 2025. In South Australia, 5 girls were registered as Jessie in 2017.
Jessie is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, Scotland, Ireland, England and Wales, Canada, Mexico City, Chile, France, Brazil and Spain.
United States
1 in 7,200
In the United States, 3,034 babies were named Jessie between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Jessie peaked in the 1890s and the 1910s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
South Australia
1 in 3,1002017
In South Australia, 5 girls were registered as Jessie in 2017.
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
Scotland
1 in 4,200
In Scotland, 11 girls named Jessie were registered in 2024, the 315th most common name among girls that year.
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
Ireland
1 in 4,900
In Ireland, 11 girls named Jessie were born in 2025, the 352nd most common name among girls that year.
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
England and Wales
1 in 5,500
In England and Wales, 101 girls named Jessie were born in 2025, the 403rd most common name among girls that year.
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
Canada
1 in 9,400
In Canada, 39 girls named Jessie were born in 2024, the 746th most common name among girls that year.
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)
Mexico City City
1 in 29,000
In Mexico City, there were 4 registrations of Jessie in 2022.
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, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Chile
1 in 36,000
In Chile, 5 girls were registered as Jessie in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
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
France
1 in 43,000
In France, about 15 girls named Jessie were born in 2025, ranked 2,085th among girls that year.
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)
Brazil
1 in 330,000
At the 2022 census, 669 people in Brazil were named Jessie, ranked 10,934th, with a median age of 26.
Among people named Jessie living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 74 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
Spain
1 in 410,000
In Spain, 65 residents are named Jessie, ranked 11,073rd among women, with a mean age of 30.7 years.
In Spain, 45 residents are named Jessie, ranked 15,846th among men, with a mean age of 44.2 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
Argentina
last on record 2022
Jessie is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
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
Austria
last on record 2024
Jessie is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
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)
Montevideo City
last on record 2000
Jessie is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
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
New South Wales
outside the top 100
Jessie is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.
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
New Zealand
last on record 2021
Jessie is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
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
Puerto Rico
last on record 1999
Jessie is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 7 babies have carried the name there since 1998.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.
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)
Not on the record in Poland: that registry withholds small counts, so rare uses may sit below its floor.
Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Jessie
People given the name Jessie in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1950 to 1999. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Jessie deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Jessie 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 Jessie fits with your family’s names and surname.
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