Jessica
Jessica was given to 424 girls in 2025, #665 among girls’ names; 1,054,307 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 1.02 million Americans named Jessica and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (97% of everyone recorded); the median is 39 years old and half are between 33 and 44.
Jessica is the #5 most common first name among living American women and girls, by this estimate.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Jessica by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Jessica mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Jessica is “a female given name from Hebrew.” Its etymology gives the senses “Iscah in Genesis 11:29, Jescha in the Wycliffe version” (יִסְכָּה) and “he will see/behold/look for” (meaning) and “to see, behold, look for” (mean).
First used by William Shakespeare in Merchant of Venice in the early 17th century, probably from Hebrew יִסְכָּה (yiská, “Iscah in Genesis 11:29, Jescha in the Wycliffe version”), a proper name meaning “he will see/behold/look for”, the 3ms imperfect form of a verb ultimately from the root ס־כ־ה (s-k-h), itself an alternative form of the root שׂ־כ־ה (ś-k-h), both of which mean “to see, behold, look for”.
By folk etymology seen as an elaborate form of Jessie, from Jane.
/ˈd͡ʒɛsɪkə/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Jessica?
#665 among girls’ names, 2025
Jessica fell from #206 in 2015 to #665 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 0.89 to 0.26 per 1,000.
56,235 babies in 1987, the peak
Jessica peaked in 1987, when 56,235 babies were given it (55,992 girls, #1 among girls’ names). The 424 births of 2025 are under 1% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 424 | #665 | 0.26 |
| 2024 | 527 | #575 | 0.33 |
| 2023 | 550 | #550 | 0.34 |
| 2022 | 620 | #508 | 0.38 |
| 2021 | 656 | #477 | 0.40 |
| 2020 | 780 | #399 | 0.48 |
| 2019 | 970 | #331 | 0.58 |
| 2018 | 1,065 | #313 | 0.63 |
| 2017 | 1,292 | #246 | 0.75 |
| 2016 | 1,392 | #231 | 0.79 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1,592 | #206 | 0.89 |
| 2014 | 1,804 | #179 | 1.0 |
| 2013 | 1,951 | #164 | 1.1 |
| 2012 | 2,335 | #137 | 1.3 |
| 2011 | 2,626 | #118 | 1.5 |
| 2010 | 3,200 | #92 | 1.8 |
| 2009 | 3,801 | #78 | 2.1 |
| 2008 | 4,739 | #59 | 2.5 |
| 2007 | 5,714 | #42 | 3.0 |
| 2006 | 6,815 | #32 | 3.6 |
| 2005 | 8,115 | #27 | 4.4 |
| 2004 | 9,470 | #21 | 5.2 |
| 2003 | 10,454 | #18 | 5.7 |
| 2002 | 11,921 | #16 | 6.6 |
| 2001 | 13,925 | #11 | 7.7 |
| 2000 | 15,711 | #8 | 8.7 |
| 1999 | 16,350 | #9 | 9.2 |
| 1998 | 18,239 | #8 | 10.3 |
| 1997 | 21,045 | #2 | 12.1 |
| 1996 | 24,201 | #2 | 13.8 |
| 1995 | 27,941 | #1 | 15.9 |
| 1994 | 32,122 | #1 | 18.0 |
| 1993 | 34,993 | #1 | 19.3 |
| 1992 | 38,361 | #2 | 20.8 |
| 1991 | 43,398 | #2 | 23.1 |
| 1990 | 46,486 | #1 | 24.5 |
| 1989 | 47,887 | #1 | 26.0 |
| 1988 | 51,556 | #1 | 29.0 |
| 1987 | 55,992 | #1 | 32.2 |
| 1986 | 52,682 | #1 | 30.7 |
| 1985 | 48,345 | #1 | 28.1 |
| 1984 | 45,857 | #2 | 27.2 |
| 1983 | 45,283 | #2 | 27.1 |
| 1982 | 45,453 | #2 | 26.8 |
| 1981 | 42,531 | #2 | 25.5 |
| 1980 | 33,924 | #3 | 20.4 |
| 1979 | 27,780 | #4 | 17.3 |
| 1978 | 26,102 | #3 | 17.0 |
| 1977 | 24,846 | #4 | 16.2 |
| 1976 | 18,368 | #8 | 12.5 |
| 1975 | 12,926 | #13 | 8.9 |
| 1974 | 10,656 | #17 | 7.3 |
| 1973 | 7,228 | #34 | 5.0 |
| 1972 | 6,206 | #46 | 4.1 |
| 1971 | 5,359 | #64 | 3.2 |
| 1970 | 4,021 | #98 | 2.3 |
| 1969 | 2,492 | #134 | 1.5 |
| 1968 | 1,841 | #177 | 1.1 |
| 1967 | 1,760 | #183 | 1.1 |
| 1966 | 1,667 | #195 | 1.0 |
| 1965 | 1,532 | #216 | 0.87 |
| 1964 | 1,171 | #262 | 0.62 |
| 1963 | 1,120 | #265 | 0.58 |
| 1962 | 864 | #319 | 0.44 |
| 1961 | 668 | #372 | 0.33 |
| 1960 | 556 | #408 | 0.27 |
| 1959 | 522 | #414 | 0.26 |
| 1958 | 529 | #403 | 0.26 |
| 1957 | 475 | #432 | 0.23 |
| 1956 | 406 | #453 | 0.20 |
| 1955 | 387 | #458 | 0.20 |
| 1954 | 424 | #422 | 0.22 |
| 1953 | 495 | #381 | 0.26 |
| 1952 | 453 | #386 | 0.24 |
| 1951 | 466 | #379 | 0.26 |
| 1950 | 402 | #399 | 0.23 |
| 1949 | 406 | #394 | 0.24 |
| 1948 | 482 | #353 | 0.28 |
| 1947 | 430 | #385 | 0.24 |
| 1946 | 240 | #507 | 0.15 |
| 1945 | 132 | #634 | 0.10 |
| 1944 | 124 | #666 | 0.09 |
| 1943 | 121 | #691 | 0.09 |
| 1942 | 127 | #664 | 0.09 |
| 1941 | 81 | #805 | 0.07 |
| 1940 | 61 | #918 | 0.05 |
| 1939 | 77 | #778 | 0.07 |
| 1938 | 50 | #1,013 | 0.05 |
| 1937 | 71 | #815 | 0.07 |
| 1936 | 43 | #1,072 | 0.04 |
| 1935 | 47 | #1,008 | 0.04 |
| 1934 | 46 | #1,024 | 0.04 |
| 1933 | 43 | #1,066 | 0.04 |
| 1932 | 44 | #1,074 | 0.04 |
| 1931 | 40 | #1,135 | 0.04 |
| 1930 | 38 | #1,222 | 0.03 |
| 1929 | 42 | #1,144 | 0.04 |
| 1928 | 36 | #1,276 | 0.03 |
| 1927 | 39 | #1,268 | 0.03 |
| 1926 | 35 | #1,340 | 0.03 |
| 1925 | 34 | #1,390 | 0.03 |
| 1924 | 41 | #1,253 | 0.03 |
| 1923 | 52 | #1,062 | 0.04 |
| 1922 | 40 | #1,240 | 0.03 |
| 1921 | 48 | #1,104 | 0.04 |
| 1920 | 43 | #1,161 | 0.04 |
| 1919 | 40 | #1,184 | 0.04 |
| 1918 | 56 | #963 | 0.05 |
| 1917 | 55 | #938 | 0.05 |
| 1916 | 53 | #944 | 0.05 |
| 1915 | 55 | #887 | 0.06 |
| 1914 | 42 | #910 | 0.06 |
| 1913 | 25 | #1,105 | 0.04 |
| 1912 | 36 | #840 | 0.06 |
| 1911 | 21 | #971 | 0.05 |
| 1910 | 28 | #821 | 0.07 |
| 1909 | 18 | #980 | 0.05 |
| 1908 | 17 | #983 | 0.05 |
| 1907 | 17 | #932 | 0.05 |
| 1906 | 18 | #886 | 0.06 |
| 1905 | 17 | #911 | 0.06 |
| 1904 | 16 | #921 | 0.06 |
| 1903 | 16 | #880 | 0.06 |
| 1902 | 9 | #1,264 | 0.03 |
| 1901 | 8 | #1,273 | 0.03 |
| 1900 | 23 | #770 | 0.08 |
| 1899 | 14 | #893 | 0.06 |
| 1898 | 13 | #987 | 0.05 |
| 1897 | 9 | #1,120 | 0.04 |
| 1896 | 9 | #1,168 | 0.04 |
| 1895 | 19 | #733 | 0.08 |
| 1894 | 10 | #1,029 | 0.04 |
| 1893 | 15 | #777 | 0.07 |
| 1892 | 14 | #813 | 0.07 |
| 1891 | 14 | #735 | 0.08 |
| 1890 | 18 | #627 | 0.09 |
| 1889 | 9 | #926 | 0.05 |
| 1888 | 18 | #601 | 0.10 |
| 1887 | 8 | #898 | 0.05 |
| 1886 | 11 | #712 | 0.08 |
| 1885 | 6 | #981 | 0.05 |
| 1884 | 14 | #572 | 0.11 |
| 1883 | 6 | #866 | 0.05 |
| 1882 | 8 | #710 | 0.07 |
| 1881 | 7 | #715 | 0.08 |
| 1880 | 7 | #705 | 0.08 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Jessica a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Jessica has been given almost only to girls: 3,578 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Jessica: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Jessica, and how old are they?
1.02 million alive in 2026, estimated
That is 97% of the 1,054,307 Americans ever recorded as Jessica. The median Jessica alive today is 39 years old; half are between 33 and 44.
The 2020 Census counted 957,447 people named Jessica (956,497 women and girls, 950 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 1,024,144 born in the U.S. The Census count is 7% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 455 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 8,380 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 177,000 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 666,000 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 153,000 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 13,500 |
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 Jessica born?
The states with the most babies named Jessica are California, Texas and Florida, with 39% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 70 | #484 | 1.0× |
| Texas | 55 | #573 | 0.9× |
| Florida | 24 | #700 | 1.0× |
| Georgia | 18 | #592 | 1.0× |
| Arizona | 16 | #430 | 0.9× |
| New York | 15 | #1,002 | 1.0× |
| Pennsylvania | 14 | #705 | 0.9× |
| Ohio | 14 | #688 | 0.9× |
| North Carolina | 14 | #707 | 0.9× |
| Washington | 14 | #491 | 0.9× |
Where Jessica is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Jessica is most over-represented in New Jersey: since 1910 it was given 1.1 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 girls’ 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 Jessica 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 8 names spelled alike, given to 1,070,039 babies since 1880, Jessica is the most given (99% of them). In 2025 it was given to 424 of their 436 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 Jessica
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
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 Jessica and names like it
- Compare Jessica and JessikaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1980sJessica peaked in 1987.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Jessica since 1910.
- Hebrew namesWiktionary’s origin for Jessica: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1987The year the most babies were named Jessica.
- The names of the MillennialsMost people named Jessica alive today were born 1981-1996.
- Names starting with JMost given first.