Jessi Name Meaning & Historical Trends

Jessi

Pronunciation: JESS-ee

Gender Unisex
GIRLS RANK
#3,118
TREND
176
BOYS RANK
#10,144
TREND
2,937

Rank shows the name’s position among U.S. baby names for each gender in 2025. Trend shows how many places it rose or fell since 2024. Rank 1 is the most popular. Based on U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) data. Peak and lowest years are based on the number of girls named Jessi in the available records.

Fun Facts About the Name Jessi

  • More than 7 thousand babies named Jessi: U.S. records list 7,870 babies given the name Jessi from 1880 through 2025. Of these, 1,321 boys received the name Jessi - about 1 boy for every 5 girls.

What Does the Name Jessi Mean?

Jessi is a spelling variant of Jessie (also Jessy), a name that comes mainly from Scotland. Jessie is a diminutive of Janet, a Scots form of Jane. Jane traces through Old French Jehanne, Latin Johanna, and Greek Ioanna to Hebrew Yochanan, meaning 'Yahweh is gracious.' In this derivation, Jessi means 'God is gracious.'

Jessie and Jessi are also used as short forms of Jessica. The etymology of Jessica is disputed; it may be connected to the Hebrew Yiskah (Iscah), whose meaning is uncertain. Because the name can come from more than one source, not every Jessi shares a single documented etymology.

Jessi Name History & Origins

The spelling Jessi belongs to the same family as Jessie, but the two have different histories. Jessie began as a Scots pet form of Janet. Janet was the ordinary Scots form of Jane, and it was used as a women's name in Scotland from the Middle Ages onward. Scots added the diminutive ending -ie to create Jessie, as it did with other familiar names. In the English-speaking world, Jessie is also used as a feminine given name in its own right.

Jessie also serves as a short form of Jessica. Jessica is the name of a character in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice; its earlier history and Hebrew derivation are debated. The spelling Jessi is a later respelling that replaces the final -ie with -i, a pattern also found in other modern English given names. Jessi is not a separate etymological root; it is a spelling of Jessie.

How Popular is the Name Jessi?

Jessi recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 1981. Its best rank was #648 in 1981.

U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.

Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.

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How the Name Jessi Shapes Your Personality and Life?

You are honest, benevolent, brilliant and often inventive, full of high inspirations. You are courageous, honest, determined, original and creative. You are a leader, especially for a cause. Sometimes you do not care to finish what you start, and may leave details to others. You can do well in position of authority, and prospers in intellectual and professional fields. You have an eventful, exciting life. You are versatile and have the ability to learn easily.

Position and social status is very important for you and you are always looking for way to improve your position in society. You have power and ability to chose your own destiny and achieve anything you want in life. You can expand in any direction according to your will and the set of values. You have passion for justice and belong to the position of authority. You have an inherent courage and endurance to accomplish "The Impossible Dream". With the power comes responsibility. You hold keys to the material world, but with this gift comes high spiritual responsibility to be fair and true to others. You are philosophical and mature, determined and intense with a desire to endure, often religious.

✦ Jessi's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Jessi's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.
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