Jesse
Masculine · “Hebrew Yishai”
Jesse is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 432,428 boys against 12,492 girls since 1880. See Jesse as a girl name
Jesse is the English form of the Hebrew Yishai, the shepherd of Bethlehem named in the Hebrew Bible as the father of King David. Because of one line in Isaiah — a shoot coming up from the stump of Jesse — his name became a medieval art subject, the Jesse Tree, painted and glazed into church windows across Europe. Two syllables, both open and easy, and a spelling almost nobody in the English-speaking world has to be taught.
How old is the name Jesse?
Jesse was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Jesse alive today was born around 1981, making them about 44 years old. About 326,000 people named Jesse are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Jesse most popular?
Jesse peaked in 1882, reaching #26 nationally. Today it ranks #184, 158 places below that high. See the whole 1882 chart.
Where it comes from
From Yishai to Jesse
The story of Jesse
The name belongs first to the Hebrew Bible, where Yishai of Bethlehem is the father of David. The Greek translators of the Hebrew scriptures wrote it Iessai, Latin took it as Iesse, and English arrived at Jesse — carried into common use among English Protestants after the Reformation, who favored Old Testament names. It traveled to North America with those families and settled in deeply, and it also reads as a native name in Dutch and Finnish, where the same spelling is used today. Among Americans, one of the most widely remembered bearers is the sprinter Jesse Owens, whose four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics gave the name a permanent place in the country's memory.
Meaningscholars disagree
Hebrew Yishai, commonly read as "gift" or "God exists"
Two readings compete. One links Yishai to a root meaning gift or bestowal; another connects it to the Hebrew yesh, "there is," giving a sense of "God exists" or "He is." Neither has won out, and Hebrew scholarship treats the name as genuinely uncertain.
Cultural footprint
Jesse Owens (b. 1913) — Won four golds at Hitler's 1936 Olympics
Jesse Eisenberg (b. 1983) — Played Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
How the name formed
- Yishai
- Iessai
- Iesse
- Jesse
Related forms: Yishai · Jesse · Jesse · Jesé · Jessé · Iesse
Pronouncing Jesse
JESS-ee
Stress on the first syllable. It is a homophone of Jessie and Jessy, so the spelling — not the sound — is what distinguishes it in speech.
Nicknames for Jesse
High
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 198110,443 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #26reached in 1882
- Change vs 2022
- +1.2%2,002 in 2025, from 1,979
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Jesse in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Yishai in Hebrew — transliteration
- Jesse in Dutch — same name
- Jesse in Finnish — same name
- Jesé in Spanish — related form
- Jessé in French — same name
- Iesse in Italian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York. International figures from Office for National Statistics. Sources
Jesses among us
people named Jesse are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 853 born in 2025 was named Jesse
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Jesse has held the top-100 across 9 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Jesse is headed
Jesse should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Jesse beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Jesse in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A spelling that needs no explanation in English, and the same spelling works unchanged in Dutch and Finnish.
- A documented record stretching back to the Hebrew Bible, with an unbroken line of English use since the Reformation.
- Never out of circulation in American records — familiar to every generation without ever tipping into ubiquity.
- Short forms already exist and are understood: Jess for daily use, Jessie for childhood.
- Also charts in England and Wales, so it travels without translation.
- Jess and Jessie belong to girls' names as well — Jessica most of all — so the short forms are shared territory. A Jesse called Jess may occasionally be assumed female on paper before being met in person.
- Three near-identical spellings circulate: Jesse, Jessie, Jessy. Expect the occasional correction on forms and in email, though Jesse is the form most people default to for a boy.
- Most Americans carrying this name today are adults rather than children, so it may register as a grown man's name before it registers as a baby's. That fades quickly once a small one has it.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Jesse to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Jesse? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Jesse
Masculine · #184 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Jesses are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 326,000 people named Jesse are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Jesse in 2025?
- Jesse ranks #184 among US boy names in 2025, with 2,002 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Jesse?
- About 1 in every 853 US boys born in 2025 was named Jesse — 2,002 in all.
- Will my child share the name Jesse with classmates?
- Jesse will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Jesse
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Amari#185 · Aziel#186 · Ryker#182 · Cole#182 · Tucker#181 · Peter#187 · Max#180 · Rhett#188
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Jesse? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Jesse and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Or jump into a head-to-head
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration; international figures from national statistics agencies. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle