Mostly girls · peaked in 1882
Jessie name popularity since 1925
178,385 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Jessie (51.9% girls, 48.1% boys). Half of them were born in 1959 or earlier, so the typical Jessie is about 67 years old in 2026. Jessie peaked in 1882 as the #37 name for girls, and it ranked #824 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 178,385
- Named Jessie, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1882
- #37 for girls that year
- In 2025
- #824
- for girls in 2025 (330 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 51.9% girls
- 92,511 girls · 85,874 boys
- Most popular in
- Mississippi
- 5.96× its national share
Peak year is the year Jessie made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Jessie births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year on this chart was 1925. Measured as a share of all babies, Jessie peaked earlier, in 1882.
- Fastest rise: Between 1976 and 1981, Jessie became 2.4× more common, from 1 in 3,270 baby girls to 1 in 1,380.
- Steepest fall: Between 1994 and 1999, its share of baby girls fell by 41%, from 1 in 1,420 to 1 in 2,400.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Jessie's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Jessie.
Decade by decade
Babies named Jessie in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 13,411 | 7,156 | – |
| 1930s | 17,248 | 11,233 | #135 |
| 1940s | 12,150 | 10,322 | #185 |
| 1950s | 7,653 | 10,165 | #313 |
| 1960s | 4,201 | 8,697 | #433 |
| 1970s | 4,410 | 8,192 | #473 |
| 1980s | 10,966 | 11,561 | #234 |
| 1990s | 10,142 | 9,298 | #249 |
| 2000s | 5,684 | 5,594 | #567 |
| 2010s | 4,513 | 2,755 | #613 |
| 2020–25 | 2,133 | 901 | #824 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
27.9% of babies named Jessie from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Silent Generation years (1928–1945). The full split by generation:
Where Jessie is most popular
The index compares Jessie'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 Jessie.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Mississippi | 5.96× | 12,547 |
| Arkansas | 3.32× | 5,941 |
| Alabama | 3.31× | 10,183 |
| South Carolina | 2.78× | 6,759 |
| Louisiana | 2.61× | 8,156 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Jessie and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Jessie (this page) | 92,511 | 1882 |
| Jessi | 6,553 | 1981 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Jessie's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Jessie.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Jessie (1882).
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