Jessica | Name Meaning & Origin

Literary Characters Names, Shakespeare Names, Australian Names, New Zealand Names, American Names, English Names, Popular Names, Twilight Names, Celebrity Names

English speaking countries

Jessica first appeared in the Shakespeare's 'Merchant of Venice' and her origins are much debated. It is possible that Jessica comes from the Hebrew name found in the Bible as Iscah, which was translated in Shakespeare's time as Jesca.

Having shown amazing popularity in the US from the late 70s to the late 90s, Jessica fell to 32nd place in the US charts in 2006. However, in 2007 it was the fifth most popular name in the UK, having held the top spot in 2005. Jessica is also currently in the top 10 of all the Australian states, and New Zealand.

Famous bearers include actresses Jessica Lange, Jessica Alba and Jessica Biel, singer Jessica Simpson and Jessica McClure (also known as 'Baby Jessica') who became trapped in a well at 18 months. Jessica Rabbit is the amoral wife of Roger Rabbit in the film 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit?'.