Etymology & Historical Origin of the Baby Name Jessica

Like the name Olivia in “Twelfth Night,” Jessica is another female name that was apparently first coined by William Shakespeare at the end of the 16th century; this time in his play “Merchant of Venice.” In the play, Jessica is the daughter of Shylock, a Jewish moneylender and one of Shakespeare’s most memorable characters. It’s not clear where Shakespeare sourced the name, but it’s presumably intended to be a distinctly Jewish sounding name. It is thought that he took the name from a minor character in the Bible “Iscah,” Abraham’s niece in Genesis. Two elements of the original Hebrew name Yiskāh roughly translates to "foresight", or “clairvoyance.”

All About the Baby Name – Jessica

Personality

OF THE GIRL NAME JESSICA

The Three energy is powerful and enthusiastic. These personalities are cheerful, full of self-expression, and often quite emotional. They have an artistic flair and "gift-of-gab" that makes them natural entertainers. Their joyfulness bubbles over, and their infectious exuberance draws a crowd. The Three personality is like a child - forever young and full of delight. They are charming, witty, and generally happy people. The Three personality lives in the "now" and has a spontaneous nature. Threes seem to live with a bright and seemingly unbreakable aura that attracts others to them. In turn, they are deeply loyal and loving to their friends and family. Luck also has a tendency to favor number Threes.

Popularity

OF THE GIRL NAME JESSICA

Jessica has been on the Top 1000 list for over a century, but fairly erratically until the 1940’s when it finally seems to take hold. The name tenaciously climbs the charts for three decades and hits the Top 100 in 1970. By 1976 the name hits the Top 10 and for the next 25 years it parks itself there demonstrating its massive popularity. The name Jessica pretty much dominated the U.S. popularity charts for twenty years during the 1980’s and 1990’s. It held the #1 spot for nine years on-and-off, ostensibly in a battle for the top spot with its main competitor Ashley. Jessica is apparently losing its luster with American parents today, probably due to overuse. The name may be slipping out of the coveted Top 100; nonetheless, it continues to be an attractive choice. The modern-day “pretty girls” in pop-culture Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel and Jessica Simpson certainly help raise the name’s appeal.

Quick Facts

ON JESSICA

GENDER:

Girl

ORIGIN:

English

NUMBER OF SYLLABLES:

3

RANKING POPULARITY:

163

PRONUNCIATION:

JEH-sә-kah

SIMPLE MEANING:

Foresight, clairvoyance

Characteristics

OF JESSICA

Communicative

Creative

Optimistic

Popular

Social

Dramatic

Happy

Cultural References to the Baby Name – Jessica

Literary Characters

OF THE BABY NAME JESSICA

Jessica is the daughter of the usurious Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, who detests her father’s business, money-lending, and calls living in his house “hell”. Like a latter-day rebellious teenager, she plots to steal money from him and run away. Shylock, of course, is not exactly a model father. He certainly loves her, but he is also a revengeful man who extracts a promise of “a pound of flesh” as repayment of a loan he has made to the title character. Jessica finds a redemption of sorts by eloping with Lorenzo and converting to Christianity for him.

Lady Jessica is an important character in the hugely popular Dune science fiction series by Frank Herbert, later perpetuated by his son, Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Born and bred to be a breeder of a female child, Jessica defies the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood and actually falls in love with her assigned spouse, the Duke, Leto, with whom she has a son, Paul Atreides. Her aberration leads to galaxy changing events, and she is reviled for centuries as having committed “The Jessica Crime”, i.e., falling in love.

Childrens Books

ON THE BABY NAME JESSICA

We cannot find any childrens books with the first name Jessica


Popular Songs

ON JESSICA

Jessica
an instrumental song by The Allman Brothers Band

Famous People

NAMED JESSICA

Jessica Tanday (actress)
Jessica Lange (actress)
Jessica Alba (actress)
Jessica Biel (actress)
Jessica McClure (aka "Baby Jessica")
Jessica Mitford (author)
Jessica Simpson (singer/actress/businesswoman)
Jessica Walter (actress)
Jessica Tanday (actress)
Jessica Lange (actress)
Jessica Alba (actress)
Jessica Biel (actress)
Jessica McClure (aka "Baby Jessica")
Jessica Mitford (author)
Jessica Simpson (singer/actress/businesswoman)
Jessica Walter (actress)
Jessica Tanday (actress)
Jessica Lange (actress)
Jessica Alba (actress)
Jessica Biel (actress)
Jessica McClure (aka "Baby Jessica")
Jessica Mitford (author)
Jessica Simpson (singer/actress/businesswoman)
Jessica Walter (actress)

Children of Famous People

NAMED JESSICA

We cannot find any children of famous people with the first name Jessica

Historic Figures

WITH THE NAME JESSICA

We cannot find any historically significant people with the first name Jessica