girls' name ★ peaked 1987

Jessica

Gender Girl Rank 2025 #665 Trend ↓ Falling 45%

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…

Rank 2025
#665
among girls · ↓90 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
424
named Jessica · -20% vs 2024
How common
1 in 3,791
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1987
56,235 babies
All-time total
1,054,307
#11 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Jessica popularity over time

1,054,307 babies have been named Jessica since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
1020304018801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 94 – 94 9 – #572
1890s 135 – 135 14 +44% #627
1900s 159 – 159 16 +18% #770
1910s 411 – 411 41 +158% #821
1920s 410 – 410 41 0% #1,062
1930s 499 – 499 50 +22% #778
1940s 2,204 – 2,204 220 +342% #353
1950s 4,559 – 4,559 456 +107% #380
1960s 13,671 55 13,726 1,373 +201% #134
1970s 143,492 528 144,020 14,402 +949% #3
1980s 469,510 2,020 471,530 47,153 +227% #1
1990s 303,136 769 303,905 30,391 -36% #1
2000s 90,665 186 90,851 9,085 -70% #8
2010s 18,227 20 18,247 1,825 -80% #92
2020s (to 2025) 3,557 – 3,557 593 -68% #399

Where Jessica is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 383 0.24 outside top 500
2027 352 0.22 outside top 500
2028 327 0.20 outside top 500
2029 307 0.19 outside top 500
2030 291 0.18 outside top 500

Where Jessica is most popular

Girls named Jessica per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.342 per 1,000. Strongest in Washington, Maryland, and California.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Jessica born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Washington 86 0.595 +74%
Maryland 57 0.538 +57%
California 446 0.531 +55%
Nebraska 18 0.501 +46%
Oregon 31 0.476 +39%
Nevada 22 0.474 +38%
Arkansas 25 0.473 +38%
Texas 360 0.448 +31%
South Carolina 40 0.445 +30%
Illinois 100 0.437 +28%
Kentucky 37 0.433 +26%
Virginia 72 0.422 +23%
Ohio 99 0.417 +22%
Alabama 39 0.415 +21%
Indiana 58 0.413 +21%
Arizona 57 0.406 +19%
Massachusetts 48 0.397 +16%
Florida 169 0.395 +15%
Pennsylvania 92 0.389 +14%
New Jersey 69 0.382 +12%
Georgia 82 0.361 +5%
Utah 30 0.360 +5%
Colorado 40 0.358 +5%
Michigan 65 0.357 ≈ national
Missouri 43 0.357 ≈ national
North Carolina 81 0.356 ≈ national
Tennessee 55 0.347 ≈ national
New York 131 0.331 ≈ national
Oklahoma 23 0.313 -9%
Connecticut 16 0.275 -20%
Louisiana 22 0.251 -27%
Wisconsin 25 0.243 -29%
Minnesota 21 0.195 -43%
Idaho 6 0.179 -48%
Kansas 7 0.121 -65%
Iowa 7 0.120 -65%
Mississippi 5 0.107 -69%
Alaska – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Maine – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Jessica

Jessica is uncommon for girls in the United States, ranked #665 in 2025 with 424 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 1,054,307 American babies have been named Jessica. Its peak came in 1987, when 56,235 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1980s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Jessica stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Jessica?

The median living Jessica is about 38 years old; half are between 32 and 43. An estimated 1.0 million people named Jessica are alive in the United States today.

median 38 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Jessica year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 424 #665 – –
2024 527 #575 – –
2023 550 #550 – –
2022 620 #508 – –
2021 656 #477 – –
2020 780 #399 – –
2019 970 #331 – –
2018 1,065 #313 – –
2017 1,292 #246 – –
2016 1,392 #231 5 #13,126
2015 1,592 #206 – –
2014 1,804 #179 – –
2013 1,951 #164 – –
2012 2,335 #137 – –
2011 2,626 #118 9 #8,384
2010 3,200 #92 6 #11,399
2009 3,801 #78 10 #7,975
2008 4,739 #59 6 #11,748
2007 5,714 #42 13 #6,428
2006 6,815 #32 10 #7,691
2005 8,115 #27 19 #4,549
2004 9,470 #21 35 #2,922
2003 10,454 #18 17 #4,700
2002 11,921 #16 22 #3,854
2001 13,925 #11 27 #3,270
2000 15,711 #8 27 #3,181
1995 27,941 #1 51 #1,744
1990 46,486 #1 140 #867
1985 48,345 #1 230 #578
1980 33,924 #3 126 #780
1975 12,926 #13 51 #1,187
1970 4,021 #98 15 #2,442
1965 1,532 #216 8 #3,108
1960 556 #408 – –
1955 387 #459 – –
1950 402 #400 – –
1945 132 #634 – –
1940 61 #918 – –
1935 47 #1,008 – –
1930 38 #1,222 – –
1925 34 #1,390 – –
1920 43 #1,161 – –
1915 55 #887 – –
1910 28 #821 – –
1905 17 #911 – –
1900 23 #770 – –
1895 19 #733 – –
1890 18 #627 – –
1885 6 #981 – –
1880 7 #705 – –

Famous people named Jessica

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Jessica Alba Jessica Alba American actress (born 1981) Contemporary
  2. 2 Jessica Chastain Jessica Chastain American actress and producer (born 1977) Contemporary
  3. 3 Jessica Biel Jessica Biel American actress (born 1982) Contemporary
  4. 4 Jessica Lange Jessica Lange American actress (born 1949) Contemporary
  5. 5 Jessica Capshaw American actress b. 1976 · Contemporary
  6. 6 Jessica Simpson Jessica Simpson American singer and actress (born 1980) Contemporary
  7. 7 Jessica Henwick Jessica Henwick British actress (born 1992) Contemporary
  8. 8 Jessica Walter Jessica Walter American actress (1941–2021) Contemporary
  9. 9 Jessica Brown Findlay Jessica Brown Findlay English actress (born 1987) b. 1989 · Contemporary
  10. 10 Jessica Tandy Jessica Tandy British actress (1909–1994) Contemporary
  11. 11 Jessica Hynes Jessica Hynes British actress and writer b. 1972 · Contemporary
  12. 12 Jessica Barden Jessica Barden English-American actress (born 1992) Contemporary
  13. 13 Jessica Rothe Jessica Rothe American actress (born 1987) Contemporary
  14. 14 Jessica Hecht Jessica Hecht American actress (born 1965) Contemporary
  15. 15 Jessica Parker Kennedy Jessica Parker Kennedy Canadian actress (born 1984) Contemporary
  16. 16 Jessica Lucas Jessica Lucas Canadian actress (born 1985) Contemporary
  17. 17 Jessica Szohr Jessica Szohr American actress b. 1985 · Contemporary
  18. 18 Jessica Lowndes Jessica Lowndes Canadian actress and singer b. 1988 · Contemporary
  19. 19 Jessica Harper Jessica Harper American actress (born 1949) Contemporary
  20. 20 Jessica Stroup Jessica Stroup American former actress (born 1986) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Jessica, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Jessica?

The median living Jessica is about 38 years old. Half of all living Jessicas are between 32 and 43 years old.

How many people named Jessica are alive today?

An estimated 1.0 million people named Jessica are alive in the United States, based on 1,054,307 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Jessica 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…

How popular is the name Jessica in 2025?

Jessica ranked #665 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 424 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Jessica?

1,054,307 babies have been named Jessica in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Jessica most popular?

Jessica peaked in 1987, when 56,235 newborns received the name.

Is Jessica a boy or girl name?

Jessica is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Jessica rising or falling?

Jessica is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Jessica become more popular?

Jessica is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 291 girls named Jessica in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Jessica?

Well-known people named Jessica include Jessica Alba (actor), Jessica Chastain (actor), Jessica Biel (actor).

Names like Jessica

Names that sound and feel close to Jessica: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Jessica with similar names → More names starting with J →