Jessamyn
A feminine name of uncertain origin meaning "jasmine flower" or "fragrant plant".
Name Census estimates that about 693 living Americans carry the first name Jessamyn. It is a predominantly female name (99.3% of registrations). The average person named Jessamyn today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jessamyn births was 1981 (37 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jessamyn. 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 Jessamyn with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
693
~ 1 in 494,595 Americans
Peak year
1981
37 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
1981 SSA rank
#6,745
Tracked since 1968
Census
Jessamyn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 721 people with the first name Jessamyn, which placed it at #15,828 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
#15,828
National first-name rank
People counted
721
721 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
70.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jessamyn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jessamyn is White at 70.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (8.5%). 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 Jessamyn 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 Jessamyn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.0% · 505
- Hispanic or Latino10.0% · 72
- Asian and Pacific Islander8.5% · 61
- Two or more races6.8% · 49
- Black or African American4.2% · 30
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Jessamyn
Out of the 732 babies given the name Jessamyn since 1880, 99.3% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Jessamyn as a male name
- Ranked #6,745 in 1981
- 5 male births in 1981
- Peak: 1981 (5 births)
Jessamyn as a female name
- Ranked #13,053 in 2018
- 7 female births in 2018
- Peak: 1981 (32 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jessamyn appears almost entirely female. Of the 725 people counted with this name, 99.6% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Jessamyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jessamyn from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 241 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jessamyn 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 Jessamyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jessamyns live
Origin
Meaning and history of Jessamyn
The name Jessamyn has its origins rooted in the Hebrew language and culture. It is a feminine variant of the name Jesse, which is derived from the Hebrew name "Yishai" meaning "gift" or "present." The name Jesse is found in the Old Testament of the Bible as the father of King David.
Jessamyn first emerged as a name in the 17th century, likely in England or Scotland. It is believed to have been created by combining the names Jesse and Jasmine, with the latter being a Persian name referring to the jasmine flower. This combination resulted in a unique and melodic name that gained popularity during that time period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jessamyn can be found in the writings of the English poet Robert Herrick, who lived from 1591 to 1674. In his collection of poems titled "Hesperides," Herrick included a poem titled "To Jessamyn," which celebrates the beauty and virtues of a woman bearing that name.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Jessamyn. One of the earliest was Jessamyn West (1902-1984), an American novelist and short story writer known for her works set in the American West. Her best-known novel, "The Friendly Persuasion," was adapted into a critically acclaimed film in 1956.
Another prominent figure with the name Jessamyn was Jessamyn Rendell (1916-1999), an American actress and dancer who appeared in several Broadway productions and films during the mid-20th century. She is perhaps best remembered for her role in the 1951 film "An American in Paris," where she showcased her exceptional dancing skills.
In the literary world, Jessamyn Hatcher (1805-1876) was an American poet and philanthropist known for her contributions to education and social causes. Her collection of poems, titled "Verses for the People," was widely acclaimed for its emotional depth and social commentary.
More recently, Jessamyn Neuhaus (born 1980) is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has gained popularity in the folk and indie rock genres. Her albums, such as "Jessamyn Neuhaus" (2004) and "Crowd Catches Crown" (2007), have received critical acclaim for their introspective lyrics and intricate melodies.
Additionally, Jessamyn Duke (born 1986) is an American mixed martial artist who has competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and other prominent organizations. She is known for her strength and determination in the octagon, showcasing the resilience often associated with her name.
People
Jessamyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jessamyn 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
Jessamyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jessamyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 693 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jessamyn 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 494,595 US residents.
Is Jessamyn a common name?
We classify Jessamyn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 732 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jessamyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Jessamyn was 1981, when 37 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jessamyn is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jessamyn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 721 people with the name Jessamyn, or 0.24 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,828 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 Jessamyn 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 Jessamyn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jessamyn appears almost entirely female. Of the 725 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Jessamyn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jessamyn is White at 70.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (8.5%). 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 Jessamyn most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Jessamyn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.0% (505 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 Jessamyn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jessamyn a female name?
Yes, 99.3% of people registered as Jessamyn 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 Jessamyn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jessamyn 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 Jessamyn 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 Americans are named Jessamyn?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.