Find out how popular the last name Jessie is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Jessie.

Jessie, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Jessie surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Jessie in America

Jessie is the 8435th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Jessie surname appeared 3,916 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Jessie.

We can also compare 2010 data for Jessie to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Jessie

The surname Jessie is believed to have originated in Scotland during the medieval period. It is thought to be a variant spelling of the more common Scottish surname "Jesse," which itself was derived from the Hebrew personal name "Yishai" or "Jesse," meaning "wealthy" or "gift."

In its earliest forms, the name was often spelled "Jese," "Jesse," or "Jessye" in Scottish records and manuscripts. One of the earliest known references to the surname dates back to the 14th century, when a William Jese was recorded in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a collection of homage rolls rendered to King Edward I of England by Scottish nobles and landowners.

The Jessie surname is believed to have originated in the Scottish Lowlands, particularly in the counties of Ayrshire and Lanarkshire. It was later adopted by families in other parts of Scotland, as well as in northern England and Ireland.

Notable individuals with the surname Jessie include Sir William Jessie (c. 1550-1626), a Scottish merchant and landowner who served as Lord Provost of Edinburgh; John Jessie (1717-1789), a Scottish mathematician and astronomer; and Robert Jessie (1785-1854), a Scottish-born American farmer and politician who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio.

Other historical figures with the Jessie surname include James Jessie (1773-1833), a Scottish painter and engraver; and William Jessie (1819-1885), a Scottish-born American businessman and politician who served as Mayor of Brooklyn, New York.

The Jessie surname has also been associated with various place names and locations throughout Scotland, such as Jessieburn, a small village in East Ayrshire, and Jessiefields, a former estate in Lanarkshire.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Jessie

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Jessie.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Jessie was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Jessie has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Jessie was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Jessie, please contact us.

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