Etymology & Historical Origin of the Baby Name Jessie

Jessie is a unisex name and comes at each of the two genders from different places. From a masculine perspective, Jessie is an alternate spelling of Jesse from the Hebrew “Yishai” meaning “gift”. Jesse is an ancient Hebrew name borne from the Biblical Old Testament [1 Samuel 16] as the father of King David. According to the New Testament, Jesus is descended from David, so in Christian tradition then the Messiah would be descended from Jesse, as well. In the Bible, the prophet Samuel invites Jesse to a sacrifice before God. Jesse is asked to present his sons one-by-one before the Lord, but each are rejected. After seven sons are put forth, Jesse is asked if he has any more. The last and youngest is David, and when God sees the boy, he says “Arise, anoint him, for this is he” (1 Samuel 16:12). At that moment, Jesse becomes the father of the future King of Israel. The name’s meaning is fitting from this perspective: Jesse gave God the “gift” of his son. From a female perspective, Jessie is considered a short form for Jessica, but in Scotland it has also been used as a diminutive for Jean (a medieval variant of Jane). Jessica is a literary creation of William Shakespeare probably from a Hebrew name meaning “clairvoyance, foresight” and Jean/Jane are female forms of John meaning “God is gracious”. Either way, Jessie has been in constant use for both genders in all English speaking nations; although it tends to favor the girls ever so slightly.

All About the Baby Name – Jessie

Personality

OF THE UNISEX NAME JESSIE

The Master Number Twenty-Two combines the traits of Twos and Fours into a powerful force. The references to The Master Builder and "large undertakings" serve to underscore the massive potential of this personality. They are extremely capable and therefore almost always successful. Twenty-Twos are courageous leaders, innovative thinkers, extremely wise and highly organized. As such, they are able to manifest something of major importance that will have a lasting impact on this world. Master Numbers carry with them a great sense of responsibility, so it can be a burden. However, Twenty-Twos are executors and action-takers. Further, this personality exhibits traits of the Twos, which brings sensitivity, spirituality and harmony, so their endeavors are likely to benefit mankind in some capacity.

Popularity

OF THE UNISEX NAME JESSIE

Jessie is squarely unisex; there’s no doubt about that. And it’s been accepted as gender-neutral for well over 100 years which is pretty remarkable (usually one “team” generally wins out in the end). But not with Jessie. In the United States, the girl Jessie and the boy Jessie have pretty much been in a neck-n-neck race from day one. Our data only goes as far back as 1880, but even then in the olden days Jessie was on the Top 100 lists for BOTH girls and boys. In 1900, Jessie was ranked at position #53 for girls and #69 for boys. The females usually had the slight edge until the 1960s and 70s when Jessie was a stronger pick for boys. Today Jessie enjoys pretty much equal usage between the sexes; this one is an equal opportunity employer!

Quick Facts

ON JESSIE

GENDER:

Unisex

ORIGIN:

English

NUMBER OF SYLLABLES:

2

RANKING POPULARITY:

N/A

PRONUNCIATION:

JEH-see

SIMPLE MEANING:

Gift; foresight; or God is gracious

Characteristics

OF JESSIE

The Master Builder

Leader

Large Undertakings

Confidence

Discipline

Organization

Cultural References to the Baby Name – Jessie

Literary Characters

OF THE BABY NAME JESSIE

We cannot find any significant literary characters by the name of Jessie

Childrens Books

ON THE BABY NAME JESSIE

We cannot find any childrens books with the first name Jessie


Popular Songs

ON JESSIE

Simply Jessie
a song by Rex Smith

Kim & Jessie
a song by M83

Hey Jessie
a song by Debby Ryan

Jessie's Girl
a song by Rick Springfield

That's Just Jessie
a song by Kevin Denney

Poor Jessie
a song by Peter Keane

Jessie & My Whetstone
a song by Saves The Day

Jessie
a song by Neal McCoy

For Little Jessie
a song by Jerry Jeff Walker

Dear Jessie
a song by Madonna

Little Sara/Jessie's Jig
a song by Rawlins Cross

Famous People

NAMED JESSIE

Jessie J (English singer/songwriter)
Jessie Bond (English singer/actress)
Jessie Buckley (Irish singer)
Jessie James (country singer/songwriter)
Jessie Matthews (English actress)
Jessie Royce Landis (actress)
Jessie Tuggle (football player)
Jessie Willcox Smith (artist)
Jessie J (English singer/songwriter)
Jessie Bond (English singer/actress)
Jessie Buckley (Irish singer)
Jessie James (country singer/songwriter)
Jessie Matthews (English actress)
Jessie Royce Landis (actress)
Jessie Tuggle (football player)
Jessie Willcox Smith (artist)
Jessie J (English singer/songwriter)
Jessie Bond (English singer/actress)
Jessie Buckley (Irish singer)
Jessie James (country singer/songwriter)
Jessie Matthews (English actress)
Jessie Royce Landis (actress)
Jessie Tuggle (football player)
Jessie Willcox Smith (artist)

Children of Famous People

NAMED JESSIE

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

Historic Figures

WITH THE NAME JESSIE

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