Jessica (originally Iessica, also Jesica, Jessicah or Jessika) is a female given name.
The oldest written record of the name with its current spelling is found as the name of a character in Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice, where it belongs to the daughter of Shylock. The name may have been an Anglicisation of the biblical Iscah (from the Hebrew: יִסְכָּה : yisekāh), the name of a daughter of Haran briefly mentioned in the Book of Genesis 11:29. Iscah was rendered "Iesca" (Jeska) in the Matthew Bible version available in Shakespeare's day.
The original Hebrew name Yiskāh, means "foresight", or being able to see the potential in the future. The Hebrew root sakhah (ס.כ.ה) means "to see", so the name Yiskah, with the added future-tense yod, implies foresight. Iscah is the niece of Abraham.
"Jessica" was the first or second most popular female baby name in the United States from 1981-1997 before falling out of the Top 20 in 2004. It also rose to #1 in England and Wales in 2005, dropping to #3 in 2006. Common nicknames of the name Jessica include "Jess" and "Jessie".
Name variations and nicknames
Jess, Jessa, Jessie, Jessi, Jase, Jessika, Yes(s)ika. In many Asian countries Jessica is spelled Jassica.
Variants by culture:
Arabic: جيسيكا (Ǧysykā)
Albanian: Xhesika (Jesika)
Belarusian: Джэсіка (Džesika)
Bengali: জেসিকা (Jēsikā)
Catalan: Jèssica
Chinese (Mandarin): 潔西卡, 杰西卡 (Jiéxīkǎ)]
Cantonese: 謝茜嘉 (ze⁶sai¹ga¹)
Esperanto: Jiska
Finnish: Jessika
French: Jessica
Frisian: Jesca
Gujarati: જેસિકા (Jēsikā)
Irish: Seasaidh, Seasaídh
Scottish Gaelic: Teasaidh, Teasag
Hindi: जेसिका (Jēsikā)
Hungarian: Dzsesszika
Inuktitut: ᔨᔅᓯᑲ (Jissika)
Italian: Jessica, Gessica
Japanese: Jeshika (Hiragana: じぇしか, Katakana: ジェシカ)
Kannada: ಜೆಸ್ಸಿಕಾ (Jes'sikā)
Korean: 제시카 (Jeshika)
Lithuania: Džesika
Mongolian: Жессика (Jyessika)
Nepali: जेसिका (Jēsikā)
Persian: جسیکا
Polish: Dżesika, Jesica
Portuguese: Jéssica/Jessica
Punjabi: ਜੈਸਿਕਾ (Jaisikā)
Russian: Джессика (Džéssika, Dzhessika)
Serbian: Џесика (Džesika)
Spanish: Yésica, Jésica
Tamil: ஜெசிகா (Jecikā)
Telugu: జెస్సికా (Jes'sikā)
Thai: เจสสิก้า (Ces̄s̄ik̂ā)
Tupí: Gessika
Ukrainian: Джессіка (Dzhessika)
Urdu: جیسکا
Jewish variants & transliterations:
Hebrew: יִסְכָּה (Iscah)
Hungarian Yiddish: יִסְכָּה (Jiszká)
Yiddish: יִסְכָּה (Yiska), דזשעסיקאַ (Dzşʻsyqʼa)
Jessica Abel (born 1969), American comic book writer and artist
Jessica Alba (born 1981), American television and film actress
Jessica Andersson (born 1973), a Swedish singer
Jessica Andrews (born 1983), American country music singer
Jessica Biel (born 1982), American actress and former model
Jessica Brown Findlay (born 1989), English actress
Jessica Burciaga (born 1983), American model
Jessica Caban (born 1982), American model, dancer and actress
Jessica Capshaw (born 1976), American actress
Jessica Chastain (born 1977), American actress
Jessica Cirio (born 1985), Argentine model
Jessica Cornish, known as Jessie J (born 1988), British singer-songwriter
Jessica-Jane Clement (born 1985), is a British glamour model, actress and TV presenter who is best known for starring in the BBC programme The Real Hustle
Jessica DiCicco (born 1980), American actress
Jessica Drake (born 1974), American pornographic actress
Jessica Dubroff (1988–1996), American pilot trainee
Jessica Deglau (born 1980), olympic swimmers in Canada
Jessica Davenport (born 1985), is a reserve center for the WNBA's Indiana Fever
Jessica Ennis, British athlete
Jessica Eye (born 1986), is an American professional female mixed martial artist
Jessica Eddie (born 1984), Rowing olympics on 2008 to 2012
Jessica Friedman (born 1977), American actress
Jessica Fodera (Jessicka, born 1975), American musician and artist, singer of Scarling. and Formerly of Jack Off Jill
Jessica Folcker (born 1975), a Swedish singer
Jessica Fox (born 1994), French-born Australian slalom canoer, Olympic silver (K-1 slalom), world championships bronze (C-1)
Jessica Gomes (born 1985), Australian model
Jessica Harp (born 1982), American country singer-songwriter and guitarist
Jessica Hynes (born 1972), British actress, writer and comedian
Jessica Iskandar (born 1988), is an Indonesian actress and model
Jessica Iwanson (born 1948), born in Stockholm, Sweden
Jessica Joseph (born 1982), is an American former ice dancer
Jessica Jackley (born 1977), is an American businesswoman and entrepreneur
Jessica Jaymes (born 1979), American pornographic actress
Jessica Jung (born 1989), US-born Korean pop singer, former member of Girls' Generation
Jessica Kelly Siobhan Reilly (born 1977), English actress
Jessica Lange (born 1949), American actress
Jessica Lee Rose (born 1987), American actress
Jessica Lowndes (born 1988), Canadian actress and singer-songwriter
Jessica Lu (born 1985), American actress
Jessica Martin (born 1962), British actress and comedian
Jessica Mauboy (born 1989), Australian singer
Jessica McClure (born 1986), known as "Baby Jessica" when rescued from a well as a toddler
Jessica Meir, American biologist and underwater diver
Jessica Mitford (1917–1996), Anglo-American writer
Jessica Moore (basketball) (born 1982), American basketball player in WNBA for the Indiana Fever
Jessica Moore (journalist) (born 1982), American journalist
Jessica Moore (tennis) (born 1990), Australian tennis player
Jessica Care Moore (born 1971), American poet
Jessica Origliasso (born 1984), Australian musician, member of the Veronicas
Jessica Paré (born 1982), Canadian actress
Jessica Sula (born 1994), Welsh actress
Jessica Rossi (born 1992), Italian sport shooter, gold medalist at Summer Olympics 2012
Jessica Sanchez (born 1995), American Idol S11 Runner-up, Interscope recording artist
Jessica Savitch (1947–1983), American TV news reporter
Jessica Serfaty (born 1990), American model
Jessica Simpson (born 1980), American pop singer and actress
Jessica Smith (editor) (born 1895-1983), American editor and activist
Jessica Stam (born 1986), Canadian model
Jessica Steinhauser, known as Asia Carrera (born 1973), American former pornographic actress
Jessica Stroup (born 1986), American actress and model
Jessica Sutta (born 1982), American dancer and singer, member of the Pussycat Dolls
Jessica Szohr (born 1985), American actress
Jessica Tandy (1909–1994), Anglo-American actress
Jessica Taylor (born 1980), English singer, former member of Liberty X
Jessica Utts (born 1952), is a statistics professor at the University of California, Irvine and an author of textbooks on statistics.
Jessica Upshaw (born 1959-2013) was an American politician and lawyer
Jessica Varnish (born 1990), is a British track cyclist
Jessica Vetter (born 1985), is a member of the United States women's national ice hockey team.
Jessica Voorsanger (born 1965), is an American and artist.
Jessica Walter (born 1941), American actress
Jessica White (born 1984), American Model
Jessica Williams (born 1948), is an American pianist and composer
Jessica Wong (born 1991), is an ice hockey player.
Jessica Wich (born 1990), is a football striker
Jessica Wright, former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs at the United States Department of Defense
Jessica Wahls (born 1977), is a German pop singer
Jessica Yu (born 1966), American Film Director
Jessica Yellin (born 1971), American Television
Jessica Zelinka (born 1981), is a Canadian pentathlete
Jessica Zhu (born 1986), is a Chinese-American pianist
Jessica Zafra (born 1965), Filipino woman writers
Sarah Jessica Parker (born 1965), American actress, model, singer and producer.
Jessica Baker, a character in the 2003 film Cheaper by the Dozen and its sequel
Jessica "Jessie" Bannon of the TV series The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest
Jessica Buchanan in the American soap opera One Life to Live
Jessica Day in the sitcom New Girl
Jessica Drew in the Marvel Comics Universe series Spider-Woman
Jessica Fletcher in the American television mystery series Murder, She Wrote
Jessica Glitter from How I Met Your Mother, Robin's childhood best friend and co-star
Jessica Hamby in the HBO Series True Blood
Jessica Jones superhero in the Marvel Universe
Jessica Lovejoy of the TV series The Simpsons
Jessica Moore (Supernatural) of the TV series Supernatural
Jessica Stanley In the Twilight Saga written by Stephenie Meyer
Jessica Rabbit in the Roger Rabbit film-and-novel franchise
Jessica Sanders of the NBC Sci-Fi Drama Heroes
Jessica Tate, a character in the American TV series Soap
Jessica Wakefield of Sweet Valley High and Sweet Valley Twins
Jessica Ushiromiya, a character from Umineko no Naku Koro ni
Lady Jessica of the Sci-Fi Dune (franchise)
Jessica Zajicek Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List
Jessica (Reika), a character in Stitch!.
Jessica Warren in Bones.
Jessica, one of the playable characters in Until Dawn.
