Jesses
A diminutive derived from the name Jesse, originating from the Hebrew name Yishai meaning "gift" or "wealthy".
Name Census estimates that about 27 living Americans carry the first name Jesses. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jesses today is around 62 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jesses births was 1939 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jesses. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Jesses. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
27
~ 1 in 12,694,605 Americans
Peak year
1939
8 babies that year
Average age
62
years old
1989 SSA rank
#7,415
Tracked since 1922
Popularity
Jesses: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jesses from the 1920s through to the 1980s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 19 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1930s peak, Jesses remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jesses 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 Jesses 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 Jesses
The name Jesses is derived from the Latin name Jesse, which ultimately comes from the Hebrew name Yishai. Yishai means "gift" or "wealthy" in Hebrew. The name Jesse appears in the Old Testament of the Bible as the father of King David.
In the biblical Book of Ruth, Jesse is described as a Bethlehemite and owner of a field. He is an important figure in the genealogy of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew. The name Jesse is also found in the Book of Isaiah, which refers to a shoot emerging from the "stump of Jesse" – a messianic prophecy about the coming of the Messiah from the line of David.
The earliest recorded use of the name Jesse dates back to the 11th century BCE, as mentioned in the biblical accounts. One of the most famous biblical figures with this name is Jesse, the father of King David, who lived around 1000 BCE.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the name Jesses. One of the earliest was Jesse ben Huna, a prominent Jewish scholar and leader in the 3rd century CE. He was the head of the Jewish community in Babylon and played a significant role in compiling the Babylonian Talmud.
In the Middle Ages, Jesse of Amiens was a French architect and sculptor who lived in the 13th century. He is best known for designing the intricate stone choir screen at the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Amiens, which features a sculptural representation of the Jesse Tree, depicting the genealogy of Christ.
Another notable figure was Jesse Armistead, an African-American musician and bandleader who lived from 1887 to 1952. He was a prominent figure in the early jazz scene in New Orleans and is considered one of the pioneering figures of jazz music.
In the 20th century, Jesse Owens (1913-1980) was an American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. His remarkable athletic achievements and triumph over racial discrimination made him an iconic figure in the history of sports and the civil rights movement.
People
Jesses + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jesses 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
Jesses: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jesses?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 27 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jesses 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 12,694,605 US residents.
Is Jesses a common name?
We classify Jesses as "Very Rare". It ranks above 44.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 51 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jesses most popular?
The single biggest year for Jesses was 1939, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jesses is about 62 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Jesses in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jesses a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jesses in the SSA data are male. 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 Jesses still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jesses 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 Jesses 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have Jesses as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Jesses, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.