Jesse
Jesse was given to 2,002 boys in 2025, #184 among boys’ names; 444,920 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 331,000 Americans named Jesse and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (74% of everyone recorded); the median is 38 years old and half are between 27 and 48.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Jesse by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Jesse mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Jesse is “a male given name from Hebrew of biblical origin.”
Also “a female given name, variant of Jessie.”
From Ancient Greek Ἰεσσαί (Iessaí), from Hebrew יִשַׁי (Yishai).
/ˈd͡ʒɛs.i/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Jesse?
#184 among boys’ names, 2025
Jesse fell from #178 in 2015 to #184 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born held at 1.2 per 1,000.
10,823 babies in 1981, the peak
Jesse peaked in 1981, when 10,823 babies were given it (10,443 boys, #37 among boys’ names). The 2,074 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 19% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,002 | #184 | 1.2 |
| 2024 | 1,996 | #185 | 1.2 |
| 2023 | 1,828 | #202 | 1.1 |
| 2022 | 1,979 | #192 | 1.1 |
| 2021 | 1,908 | #203 | 1.1 |
| 2020 | 1,887 | #203 | 1.1 |
| 2019 | 1,979 | #200 | 1.1 |
| 2018 | 2,146 | #186 | 1.2 |
| 2017 | 2,106 | #186 | 1.1 |
| 2016 | 2,310 | #174 | 1.2 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 2,357 | #178 | 1.2 |
| 2014 | 2,469 | #172 | 1.3 |
| 2013 | 2,571 | #156 | 1.4 |
| 2012 | 2,712 | #150 | 1.4 |
| 2011 | 2,973 | #140 | 1.6 |
| 2010 | 3,280 | #124 | 1.7 |
| 2009 | 3,688 | #112 | 1.9 |
| 2008 | 3,954 | #110 | 1.9 |
| 2007 | 4,130 | #107 | 2.0 |
| 2006 | 4,370 | #102 | 2.1 |
| 2005 | 4,746 | #89 | 2.4 |
| 2004 | 4,761 | #94 | 2.4 |
| 2003 | 4,606 | #94 | 2.3 |
| 2002 | 4,431 | #90 | 2.3 |
| 2001 | 4,222 | #91 | 2.2 |
| 2000 | 4,485 | #90 | 2.3 |
| 1999 | 5,004 | #82 | 2.6 |
| 1998 | 5,444 | #70 | 2.8 |
| 1997 | 5,920 | #63 | 3.1 |
| 1996 | 7,075 | #51 | 3.7 |
| 1995 | 7,495 | #46 | 3.9 |
| 1994 | 8,683 | #45 | 4.5 |
| 1993 | 8,263 | #48 | 4.2 |
| 1992 | 8,563 | #50 | 4.3 |
| 1991 | 8,367 | #51 | 4.1 |
| 1990 | 8,977 | #48 | 4.4 |
| 1989 | 8,853 | #50 | 4.4 |
| 1988 | 7,914 | #55 | 4.1 |
| 1987 | 7,982 | #55 | 4.3 |
| 1986 | 8,542 | #48 | 4.6 |
| 1985 | 8,221 | #51 | 4.4 |
| 1984 | 7,606 | #50 | 4.2 |
| 1983 | 8,469 | #46 | 4.7 |
| 1982 | 9,504 | #43 | 5.2 |
| 1981 | 10,443 | #37 | 5.8 |
| 1980 | 8,374 | #45 | 4.7 |
| 1979 | 6,679 | #50 | 3.9 |
| 1978 | 6,107 | #51 | 3.7 |
| 1977 | 5,823 | #54 | 3.5 |
| 1976 | 5,300 | #55 | 3.4 |
| 1975 | 4,435 | #64 | 2.8 |
| 1974 | 4,105 | #67 | 2.6 |
| 1973 | 3,442 | #75 | 2.2 |
| 1972 | 3,226 | #88 | 2.0 |
| 1971 | 3,001 | #107 | 1.7 |
| 1970 | 2,768 | #119 | 1.5 |
| 1969 | 2,377 | #128 | 1.3 |
| 1968 | 2,147 | #135 | 1.2 |
| 1967 | 2,186 | #135 | 1.3 |
| 1966 | 2,316 | #132 | 1.3 |
| 1965 | 2,212 | #139 | 1.2 |
| 1964 | 2,185 | #151 | 1.1 |
| 1963 | 2,229 | #149 | 1.1 |
| 1962 | 2,273 | #149 | 1.1 |
| 1961 | 2,306 | #150 | 1.1 |
| 1960 | 2,374 | #150 | 1.1 |
| 1959 | 2,440 | #142 | 1.1 |
| 1958 | 2,490 | #141 | 1.2 |
| 1957 | 2,737 | #133 | 1.3 |
| 1956 | 2,626 | #126 | 1.2 |
| 1955 | 2,786 | #122 | 1.4 |
| 1954 | 2,760 | #119 | 1.4 |
| 1953 | 2,818 | #114 | 1.4 |
| 1952 | 2,721 | #112 | 1.4 |
| 1951 | 2,670 | #115 | 1.4 |
| 1950 | 2,607 | #114 | 1.5 |
| 1949 | 2,704 | #110 | 1.5 |
| 1948 | 2,705 | #108 | 1.5 |
| 1947 | 2,751 | #107 | 1.5 |
| 1946 | 2,468 | #109 | 1.5 |
| 1945 | 2,186 | #104 | 1.6 |
| 1944 | 2,310 | #103 | 1.7 |
| 1943 | 2,427 | #105 | 1.7 |
| 1942 | 2,396 | #100 | 1.7 |
| 1941 | 2,184 | #99 | 1.8 |
| 1940 | 2,205 | #93 | 1.9 |
| 1939 | 2,010 | #99 | 1.8 |
| 1938 | 1,912 | #107 | 1.7 |
| 1937 | 1,866 | #102 | 1.7 |
| 1936 | 1,827 | #104 | 1.8 |
| 1935 | 1,865 | #104 | 1.8 |
| 1934 | 1,853 | #102 | 1.8 |
| 1933 | 1,804 | #100 | 1.8 |
| 1932 | 1,863 | #99 | 1.8 |
| 1931 | 1,895 | #97 | 1.8 |
| 1930 | 2,035 | #94 | 1.9 |
| 1929 | 2,030 | #93 | 1.9 |
| 1928 | 2,171 | #91 | 2.0 |
| 1927 | 2,318 | #89 | 2.1 |
| 1926 | 2,298 | #87 | 2.1 |
| 1925 | 2,373 | #85 | 2.1 |
| 1924 | 2,292 | #86 | 2.0 |
| 1923 | 2,387 | #83 | 2.2 |
| 1922 | 2,395 | #81 | 2.2 |
| 1921 | 2,486 | #77 | 2.3 |
| 1920 | 2,420 | #79 | 2.3 |
| 1919 | 2,356 | #77 | 2.4 |
| 1918 | 2,433 | #78 | 2.4 |
| 1917 | 2,200 | #79 | 2.4 |
| 1916 | 2,230 | #77 | 2.5 |
| 1915 | 2,111 | #77 | 2.5 |
| 1914 | 1,457 | #82 | 2.2 |
| 1913 | 1,214 | #79 | 2.4 |
| 1912 | 1,106 | #74 | 2.6 |
| 1911 | 596 | #72 | 2.6 |
| 1910 | 590 | #60 | 3.0 |
| 1909 | 517 | #59 | 3.2 |
| 1908 | 482 | #62 | 3.1 |
| 1907 | 466 | #63 | 3.2 |
| 1906 | 436 | #57 | 3.3 |
| 1905 | 443 | #54 | 3.3 |
| 1904 | 443 | #53 | 3.5 |
| 1903 | 388 | #57 | 3.3 |
| 1902 | 437 | #50 | 3.6 |
| 1901 | 411 | #49 | 3.9 |
| 1900 | 536 | #50 | 3.6 |
| 1899 | 423 | #47 | 4.0 |
| 1898 | 476 | #47 | 3.9 |
| 1897 | 529 | #38 | 4.7 |
| 1896 | 586 | #35 | 4.9 |
| 1895 | 577 | #35 | 4.9 |
| 1894 | 567 | #38 | 4.9 |
| 1893 | 541 | #36 | 4.8 |
| 1892 | 602 | #35 | 4.9 |
| 1891 | 519 | #35 | 5.1 |
| 1890 | 576 | #33 | 5.2 |
| 1889 | 576 | #31 | 5.2 |
| 1888 | 637 | #32 | 5.3 |
| 1887 | 601 | #26 | 5.9 |
| 1886 | 614 | #30 | 5.5 |
| 1885 | 556 | #31 | 5.2 |
| 1884 | 670 | #27 | 5.9 |
| 1883 | 584 | #28 | 5.6 |
| 1882 | 660 | #26 | 5.8 |
| 1881 | 536 | #27 | 5.3 |
| 1880 | 569 | #28 | 5.1 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Jesse a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 444,920 Americans recorded as Jesse, 3% are girls and 97% boys. In 2025 it went to 72 girls and 2,002 boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Jesse: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Jesse, and how old are they?
331,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 74% of the 444,920 Americans ever recorded as Jesse. The median Jesse alive today is 38 years old; half are between 27 and 48.
The 2020 Census counted 293,709 people named Jesse (9,943 women and girls, 283,766 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 334,381 born in the U.S. The Census count is 12% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 7,580 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 32,300 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 59,300 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 133,000 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 70,300 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 28,200 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Jesse born?
The states with the most babies named Jesse are California, Texas and New York, with 29% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 56,039 | #155 | 1.2× |
| Texas | 47,680 | #171 | 1.4× |
| New York | 18,657 | #250 | 0.6× |
| Pennsylvania | 16,252 | #151 | 0.7× |
| North Carolina | 15,040 | #166 | 1.2× |
| Illinois | 14,113 | #238 | 0.7× |
| Ohio | 14,093 | #152 | 0.7× |
| Florida | 14,074 | #207 | 0.9× |
| Georgia | 12,864 | #190 | 1.0× |
| Michigan | 11,172 | #161 | 0.7× |
Where Jesse is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Jesse is most over-represented in Texas: since 1910 it was given 1.4 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Jesse with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 6 names spelled alike, given to 455,434 babies since 1880, Jesse is the most given (98% of them). In 2025 it was given to 2,074 of their 2,139 babies (97%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Jesse
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
| Name | Recorded | 1880-2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Ross | 82,293 |
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Jesse and names like it
- Compare Jesse and JessyBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1980sJesse peaked in 1981.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Jesse since 1910.
- Hebrew namesWiktionary’s origin for Jesse: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1981The year the most babies were named Jesse.
- The names of the MillennialsMost people named Jesse alive today were born 1981-1996.
- Names starting with JMost given first.