Jessamine
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "jasmine flower".
Name Census estimates that about 505 living Americans carry the first name Jessamine. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jessamine today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jessamine births was 1997 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jessamine. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Jessamine with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
505
~ 1 in 678,721 Americans
Peak year
1997
17 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,369
Tracked since 1889
Census
Jessamine in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 540 people with the first name Jessamine, which placed it at #19,526 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#19,526
National first-name rank
People counted
540
540 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
52.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jessamine
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jessamine is White at 52.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (18.9%) and Hispanic (17.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Jessamine described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Jessamine at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White52.6% · 284
- Asian and Pacific Islander18.9% · 102
- Hispanic or Latino17.6% · 95
- Two or more races6.1% · 33
- Black or African American4.1% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 4
Popularity
Jessamine: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jessamine from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 113 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Jessamine remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jessamine by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Jessamine during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jessamine
The name Jessamine is derived from the Persian word "yasamin", which means "jasmine flower". It is a variation of the English name Jasmine, which has its roots in the Persian language. The name gained popularity in the 16th century when jasmine flowers were brought to Europe from Persia and India.
Jessamine was initially used as a feminine given name in England and France during the Renaissance period. It was particularly favored among the upper classes, who appreciated its exotic and floral connotations. The name has been recorded in various historical documents, including parish records and literary works from the Elizabethan era.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Jessamine can be found in the play "The Faithful Shepherdess" by John Fletcher, written around 1608-1609. In the play, Jessamine is the name of a character, a shepherdess. This literary reference contributed to the name's popularity during that time.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Jessamine. One of the most famous was Jessamine Edmonds (1865-1907), an English actress and singer who performed in various theatrical productions in London's West End during the late 19th century.
Another historical figure with the name Jessamine was Jessamine Bury (1837-1909), a British philanthropist and social reformer. She was actively involved in various charitable organizations and campaigns, particularly those focused on improving the lives of working-class women and children.
In the realm of literature, Jessamine Kerruish (1835-1917) was a notable Manx author and poet. She wrote several books and poems that explored the culture and folklore of the Isle of Man, where she lived for most of her life.
Additionally, Jessamine Sarmiento (1899-1983) was a Filipino writer and journalist who played a significant role in the country's literary and cultural scene during the 20th century. She was known for her contributions to Filipino literature and her advocacy for women's rights.
Jessamine Buckley (1923-2011) was a British actress who had a successful career in television, film, and theater. She appeared in numerous popular television shows, including "Doctor Who" and "Upstairs, Downstairs", and was also a renowned stage actress.
People
Jessamine + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jessamine as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Jessamine: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jessamine?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 505 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jessamine going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 678,721 US residents.
Is Jessamine a common name?
We classify Jessamine as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 753 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jessamine most popular?
The single biggest year for Jessamine was 1997, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jessamine is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jessamine in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 540 people with the name Jessamine, or 0.18 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,526 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Jessamine in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Jessamine?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jessamine appears almost entirely female. Of the 546 people counted with this name, 99.1% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Jessamine?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jessamine is White at 52.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (18.9%) and Hispanic (17.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Jessamine most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Jessamine in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.6% (284 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Jessamine in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jessamine a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jessamine in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Jessamine still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jessamine in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Jessamine can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Jessamine?
Want to know how many people have the name Jessamine? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.