2000
#8,000
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,828
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.42
Rare Last name
Jessie
Derived from a Scottish place name meaning "rocky pasture land" or from a pet form of the name Jean.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,087 Americans carry the last name Jessie. That puts it at #8,828 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.19 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 83,865 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Jessie surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
4.1K
1 in 83,865
Census rank
#8,828
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,564 bearers of the surname Jessie in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.19 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8828th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Jessie, the largest self-reported group is White at 52.5%. The next largest groups are Black (37.1%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jessie
Among Census respondents with the surname Jessie, the largest self-reported group is White at 52.5%. The next largest groups are Black (37.1%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Jessie bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Jessie surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White52.5% · 1,872
- Black or African American37.1% · 1,321
- Two or more races4.6% · 164
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 127
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 62
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 18
Timeline
Historical Census data for Jessie
Jessie appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#8,435
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,916
+88 bearers (+2.3%)
Per 100,000 1.33
Rank movement Down 435 places
2020
#8,828
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,564
-352 bearers (-9.0%)
Per 100,000 1.19
Rank movement Down 393 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,000 | 3,828 | 1.42 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,435 | 3,916 | 1.33 | +88 bearers (+2.3%) | Down 435 places |
| 2020 | #8,828 | 3,564 | 1.19 | -352 bearers (-9.0%) | Down 393 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Jessie surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #8,435 | #8,828 | -4.7% |
| Count | 3,916 | 3,564 | -9.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.33 | 1.19 | -10.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Jessie bearers went from 3,916 to 3,564 (-9.0% change). The surname moved down 393 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,435 to #8,828.
FAQ
Jessie surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Jessie?
Name Census estimates that about 4,087 living Americans carry the surname Jessie. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 83,865 residents.
How common is Jessie?
Jessie ranks #8,828 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.19 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,564 people with the surname Jessie. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,087), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.19 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.19 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Jessie.
Has Jessie become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Jessie went from 3,916 recorded bearers to 3,564. That is a decrease of 352 (-9.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,435 to #8,828.
What does the Census say about the background of Jessie?
Among Census respondents with the surname Jessie, the largest self-reported group is White at 52.5%. The next largest groups are Black (37.1%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Jessie in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.5% (1,872 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Jessie appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (52.5%), Black (37.1%), Two or More Races (4.6%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Jessie (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Jessie mean?
Derived from a Scottish place name meaning "rocky pasture land" or from a pet form of the name Jean. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Jessie (1.19 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Jessie?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Jessie on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.