ESC Name Rank Total Searching... No names found Try searching for: Emma, Liam, Olivia, Noah... 1880 First Year 2026 Last Year 1987 Peak Year #1 Peak Rank 1.1M Total Count 147 Years Active 🌍 ## Meaning & Origin of Jessica What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures. Jessica is a female given name of English origin. Source: [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica%5F%28given%5Fname%29) (CC BY-SA 3.0). [Read more → ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica%5F%28given%5Fname%29) ### Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name) * English * French * German * Swedish * Norwegian * Danish * Dutch * Italian * Spanish * Portuguese [![Wikipedia thumbnail for Jessica](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/Maurycy_Gottlieb_-_Shylock_e_jessica.jpg/330px-Maurycy_Gottlieb_-_Shylock_e_jessica.jpg)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica%5F%28given%5Fname%29) 📖 ## The Story of Jessica Jessica first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1880, with 7 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 1987, when 55,996 Jessicas were born — ranking #1 that year. As of 2026, Jessica ranks #640 for baby girls with 462 births, falling sharply (-44%). In total, more than 1.1M Jessicas have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1880s through the 2020s. ## Popularity Over Time ## Popularity by State ME WA MT ND MN WI MI NY VT NH MA OR ID SD IA IL IN OH PA NJ CT RI CA NV WY NE MO KY WV VA MD DE DC UT CO KS AR TN NC SC AK AZ NM OK LA MS AL GA HI TX FL Top 10 11-50 51-100 101-500 500+ No data 🔗 ## Variants & Related Forms of Jessica Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Jessica. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name. * [Gessica](/gessica) * Jésica * [Jess](/jess) * [Jessa](/jessa) * [Jessi](/jessi) * Jéssica * [Jessie](/jessie) * [Jessika](/jessika) * [Jessy](/jessy) * [Jessye](/jessye) * Yésica * Yéssica 🌐 ## Where is Jessica most common? Predicted country distribution based on naming patterns globally. * 🇨🇳China50% * 🇮🇹Italy18% * 🇳🇬Nigeria12% * 🏳️TW11% * 🏳️HK9% Source: [Nationalize.io ](https://nationalize.io/). Probabilities are global naming-pattern estimates, not strict counts. 🎶 ## Names that sound like Jessica Phonetically similar names — useful when Jessica is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name. * [Jesica](/jesica) * [Jessika](/jessika) * [Jerica](/jerica) * [Jerrica](/jerrica) * Gesicht * [Jesiah](/jesiah) * Jesko * Cesca * Jusco * [Jericho](/jericho) * [Josiah](/josiah) * [Jessa](/jessa) Source: [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated. ❓ ## Frequently Asked Questions about Jessica What does the name Jessica mean? Jessica is a female given name of English origin. What is the origin of the name Jessica? Jessica has roots in the following cultural and linguistic traditions: English, French, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese. How popular is Jessica in 2026? In 2026, Jessica ranks #640 among girls' names in the U.S., with 462 babies given the name that year. When was Jessica most popular? Jessica reached its peak popularity in 1987, ranking #1 that year with 55,996 babies given the name. In which U.S. states is Jessica most popular? Jessica has historically been most popular in Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Jessica. Is Jessica a unisex name? In U.S. Social Security records, Jessica is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name. What names go well with Jessica? Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Jessica include Mary, Emma, Emily. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data. What are nicknames or variants of Jessica? Common variants and related forms of Jessica include Gessica, Jésica, Jess, Jessa, Jessi, Jéssica. These cover foreign-language equivalents, alternate spellings, and short forms. ## Similar Names [👧MaryPeak #1](/mary)[👧EmmaPeak #1](/emma)[👧EmilyPeak #1](/emily)[👧SophiaPeak #1](/sophia)[👧IsabellaPeak #1](/isabella)[👧OliviaPeak #1](/olivia)[👧LindaPeak #1](/linda)[👧LisaPeak #1](/lisa) ## About the name Jessica Jessica is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1880 and has accumulated 1.1M births in the dataset. Jessica's peak popularity came in 1987 when it ranked #1\. Use the chart and map above to compare Jessica's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices. ### Continue exploring * [ Top names of 1987 → ](/year/1987) * [ Names of the 1980s → ](/decade/1980s) * [ Names starting with "J" → ](/letter/j) * [ Browse all girl names → ](/names/girls) * [ Top names of 2026 → ](/year/2026) Data sources * Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. [Social Security Administration ](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/). Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships. * Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — [Behind the Name ](https://www.behindthename.com/) (used under their public API terms). * Meaning prose and editorial summary — [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/) article extracts, licensed under [CC BY-SA 3.0 ](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/). * Predicted nationality distribution — [Nationalize.io ](https://nationalize.io/). * Phonetically similar names — [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.