Boys' name · since 1880
Jess
25,063 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.
- #741 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #5,208 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 25,063
- born since 1880
- 1910s
- peak decade
25,063 babies have been named Jess since 1880, making it today's #5208 boys' name.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Jess has been recorded 25,063 times among boys since 1880, currently ranked #5208 nationally and more common than 63% of boys, with its heaviest use in the 1910s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #741 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #5,208 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 25,063 born since 1880
- 1910s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Jess ranks #741 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #5,208 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 25,063 born since 1880, peaking in the 1910s.
- #741 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #5,208 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 25,063
- born since 1880
- 1910s
- peak decade
Jess's 25,063 recorded births place it above 98.37% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
43 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Jess compares
25,063 Top 6% higher than 94% of 13,930 names currently given to boys
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Jess's all-time total is 68x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Jess | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 25,063 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 577 | 34 | 22,252 |
Jess's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Divide Jess's SSA record in two at 1953 and the more recent half accounts for 48% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 52%, a genuinely balanced usage pattern. Its calmest year was 2022, with only 17 births recorded -- set against the 1915 peak of 577, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.
Jess popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1915)
- 577
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Jess popularity over time - girls
487 total births recorded since 1884 (Jess as girls' name)
Jess by decade
1910s is the heaviest window (2,974 births, 12% of the file).
1910s was Jess's strongest decade.
2,974 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 12% of all-time use.
Jess births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 1,182
1880s
1,182 births
- 1890s 1,013
1890s
1,013 births
- 1900s 897
1900s
897 births
- 1910s
1910s
2,974 births
- 1920s
1920s
2,653 births
- 1930s
1930s
1,699 births
- 1940s
1940s
1,998 births
- 1950s
1950s
2,447 births
- 1960s
1960s
2,315 births
- 1970s
1970s
2,781 births
- 1980s
1980s
2,565 births
- 1990s
1990s
1,424 births
- 2000s 681
2000s
681 births
- 2010s 305
2010s
305 births
- 2020s 129
2020s
129 births
What this shows Peak: 1910s at 2,974 births (12% of all-time use).
How Jess compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Jess's total volume
Jess by state
Where Jess concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 3,724 | 14.9% |
| #2 | Texas | | 1,536 | 6.1% |
| #3 | Oklahoma | | 1,140 | 4.5% |
| #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% |
3,724 of 25,063 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? ▼
Where does Jess sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Jess most popular? ▼
Where is Jess most popular? ▼
How long has the name Jess been used? ▼
What names are similar to Jess? ▼
What to do with Jess's data
- Jess's decade-level peak was the 1910s (2,974 total births); usage has since declined to 129 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Jesss (3,724 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Jess
Nearby Names Like Jess
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Jess
Compare Jess side by side: Jess vs Jesse Jess vs Jesus Jess vs Jessie
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Jess
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Jess: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1915)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Jess draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.