Boys' name · peaked in 1886
Jess name popularity since 1925
17,925 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Jess (2.1% girls, 97.9% boys). Half of them were born in 1966 or earlier, so the typical Jess is about 60 years old in 2026. Jess peaked in 1886 as the #111 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 17,925
- Named Jess, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1886
- #111 for boys that year
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #5,299 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 97.9% boys
- 383 girls · 17,542 boys
- Most popular in
- Oklahoma
- 3.82× its national share
Peak year is the year Jess made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Jess births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year on this chart was 1978. Measured as a share of all babies, Jess peaked earlier, in 1886.
- Fastest rise: Between 1968 and 1973, Jess became 1.9× more common, from 1 in 10,300 baby boys to 1 in 5,510.
- Steepest fall: Between 1984 and 1989, its share of baby boys fell by 40%, from 1 in 6,920 to 1 in 11,500.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Jess's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Jess.
Decade by decade
Babies named Jess in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 15 | 1,198 | – |
| 1930s | 0 | 1,699 | #438 |
| 1940s | 5 | 1,998 | #461 |
| 1950s | 5 | 2,447 | #455 |
| 1960s | 5 | 2,315 | #565 |
| 1970s | 32 | 2,781 | #475 |
| 1980s | 64 | 2,565 | #542 |
| 1990s | 89 | 1,424 | #954 |
| 2000s | 93 | 681 | #1,698 |
| 2010s | 29 | 305 | #3,271 |
| 2020–25 | 46 | 129 | #5,299 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
26.7% of babies named Jess from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Jess is most popular
The index compares Jess's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Jess.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma | 3.82× | 625 |
| California | 2.61× | 3,465 |
| Colorado | 2.29× | 354 |
| Washington | 2.27× | 477 |
| Missouri | 1.36× | 371 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Jess's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Jess.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Jess (1886).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data