US rank #4553 Boys' name Peak 1915 25,045 births

Jess — #4553 US boys' name

25,045 babies named Jess in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1915. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s11821890s10131900s8971910s29741920s26531930s16991940s19981950s24471960s23151970s27811980s25651990s14242000s6812010s3052020s111
#4553
of 14,243 boys in use

More common than 68% of names given to boys today.

1910s
Peak decade

12% of everyone ever named Jess was born in this single decade.

1915
Single peak year

577 babies were named Jess in 1915 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Jess

The Social Security Administration has registered 25,045 babies named Jess between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Jess currently holds the #4553 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1915, when 577 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Jess performed strongest in the 1910s, accumulating 2,974 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Jess shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in California, which accounts for 3,724 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Texas and Oklahoma. In total, SSA state-level files list Jess in 43 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Jess in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 25,045 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Jess at a glance

Outside the top 1,000

Total births

25,045

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

1915

577 births that year

Strongest decade: 1910s

Current rank

#4,553

Among boys

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Jess popularity over time — boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880

Outside the top 1,000
Peak year (1915)
577
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
-2000200400600800 202420051986196719481929191018911880 103

Jess popularity over time — girls

477 total births recorded since 1884 (Jess as girls' name)

Unisex variant — 477 births
05101520 202420132002199319851965192018971884 5

Jess by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1910s
Peak decade
1910s
2,974 births that decade — 12% of Jess's all-time total
1880s11821890s10131900s8971910s29741920s26531930s16991940s19981950s24471960s23151970s27811980s25651990s14242000s6812010s3052020s111

Jess by state

Where Jess concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Jess
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 California
3,724 14.9%
#2 Texas
1,536 6.1%
#3 Oklahoma
1,140 4.6%
#4 Ohio
765 3.1%
#5 Illinois
629 2.5%
#6 Missouri
623 2.5%
#7 Tennessee
551 2.2%
#8 Pennsylvania
544 2.2%
California share of Jess's total US births 14.9%
Even split

3,724 of 25,045 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 43 reporting states.

Jess appears in 43 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Jess?
25,045 babies have been named Jess since 1880. It currently ranks #4553 among boys. The peak year was 1915 with 577 births.
When was Jess most popular?
Jess was most popular in the 1910s decade with 2,974 total births. The single peak year was 1915.
Where is Jess most popular?
The top states for the name Jess are California (3,724 births), Texas (1,536 births), Oklahoma (1,140 births).
How long has the name Jess been used?
Jess has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Jess?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Jesse, Jesus, Jessie, Jessy, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

Keep exploring Jess

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Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.