Girls' name · since 1880
Jessica
1,050,729 babies named Jessica in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1987. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #11 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #665 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 1,050,729
- born since 1880
- 1980s
- peak decade
Yes -- Jessica is the #665 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 1,050,729 recorded since 1880.
Jessica has 1,050,729 recorded births among girls since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #665 as of the latest data, more common than 96% of girls, busiest in the 1980s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #11 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #665 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 1,050,729 born since 1880
- 1980s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Jessica ranks #11 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #665 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 1,050,729 born since 1880, peaking in the 1980s.
- #11 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #665 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 1,050,729
- born since 1880
- 1980s
- peak decade
Jessica's 1,050,729 recorded births place it above 99.98% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Jessica compares
1,050,729 Top 1% higher than 99% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls 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
Jessica's all-time total is 2,794x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Jessica | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 1,050,729 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 55,992 | 21 | 19,840 |
Jessica's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Divide Jessica's SSA record in two at 1953 and the more recent half accounts for 100% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 0%, consistent with a name still gaining ground rather than fading. Its calmest year was 1883, with only 6 births recorded -- set against the 1987 peak of 55,992, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.
Jessica popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1987)
- 55,992
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Jessica popularity over time - boys
3,578 total births recorded since 1963 (Jessica as boys' name)
Jessica by decade
1980s is the heaviest window (469,510 births, 45% of the file).
1980s was Jessica's strongest decade.
469,510 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 45% of all-time use.
Jessica births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 94
1880s
94 births
- 1890s 135
1890s
135 births
- 1900s 159
1900s
159 births
- 1910s 411
1910s
411 births
- 1920s 410
1920s
410 births
- 1930s 499
1930s
499 births
- 1940s 2,204
1940s
2,204 births
- 1950s 4,559
1950s
4,559 births
- 1960s 13,671
1960s
13,671 births
- 1970s 143,492
1970s
143,492 births
- 1980s
1980s
469,510 births
- 1990s
1990s
303,136 births
- 2000s 90,665
2000s
90,665 births
- 2010s 18,227
2010s
18,227 births
- 2020s 3,557
2020s
3,557 births
What this shows Peak: 1980s at 469,510 births (45% of all-time use).
How Jessica compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Jessica's total volume
Jessica by state
Where Jessica concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 136,185 | 13.0% |
| #2 | Texas | | 79,576 | 7.6% |
| #3 | New York | | 75,326 | 7.2% |
| #4 | Florida | | 47,219 | 4.5% |
| #5 | Illinois | | 46,670 | 4.4% |
| #6 | Pennsylvania | | 45,522 | 4.3% |
| #7 | Ohio | | 45,370 | 4.3% |
| #8 | Michigan | | 37,875 | 3.6% |
136,185 of 1,050,729 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Jessica appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Jessica? ▼
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When was Jessica most popular? ▼
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What to do with Jessica's data
- Jessica's decade-level peak was the 1980s (469,510 total births); usage has since declined to 3,557 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Jessicas (136,185 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 Jessica
Nearby Names Like Jessica
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Jessica
Compare Jessica side by side: Jessica vs Jessie Jessica vs Jesse Jessica vs Jessi
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Jessica
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Jessica: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1987)
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 Jessica 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.