Jessica

William Shakespeare introduced the spelling for Shylock's daughter in his play The Merchant of Venice, likely adapting the biblical Hebrew name Iscah, meaning 'to behold'. The name lingered quietly in American records for nearly a century after its initial 1880 appearance, rarely drawing notice. By the nineteen-seventies, parents adopted it en masse, launching a steep climb that ended at the top of the charts.

The name reads as late-eighties homeroom, red ink on spiral notebooks, and label-maker tape. With an estimated average age of 38, a Jessica tends to be pictured as someone who remembers the dial-up connection tone and keeps a duplicate set of house keys. Roughly 65 percent of living holders are Millennials, making the name an inescapable feature of youth soccer rosters and corporate calendar invites. By 2025, annual registrations fell to 424, leaving the name to enter elementary school without a last initial attached.