Popularity of the name Jessica, 1880–2025
Jessica was at its most popular in 1987, when 55,992 girls were given the name: about 1 in 31 girls born in the U.S. that year, ranking #1. In 2025, 424 girls were named Jessica, ranking #665. In all, Social Security counts 1,050,729 girls named Jessica since 1880. Social Security’s records also list 3,578 boys named Jessica.
- Peak year
- 1987
- Rank in 1987
- #1
- Babies in 1987
- 55,992
- Rank in 2025
- #665
- Total since 1880
- 1,050,729
Where it stands now
Over the last ten years it has slipped from #206 in 2015 to #665 in 2025, with 1,592 girls named Jessica in 2015 and 424 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Jessica ranked highest in the 1980s, at #1, with 469,510 girls given the name that decade. It ranked #707 in the 1880s and #522 in the 2020s so far.
Every 20 years in the records: 7 in 1880 (#679), 23 in 1900 (#760), 43 in 1920 (#1,152), 61 in 1940 (#915), 556 in 1960 (#408), 33,924 in 1980 (#3), 15,711 in 2000 (#8) and 780 in 2020 (#399).
Highs and lows
The most girls given the name in a single year was 55,992, in 1987. Its best rank in any year was #1, first reached in 1985.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1880 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 girls named Jessica, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 7 | #679 |
| 1881 | 7 | #679 |
| 1882 | 8 | #678 |
| 1883 | 6 | #817 |
| 1884 | 14 | #556 |
| 1885 | 6 | #921 |
| 1886 | 11 | #693 |
| 1887 | 8 | #860 |
| 1888 | 18 | #593 |
| 1889 | 9 | #902 |
| 1890 | 18 | #617 |
| 1891 | 14 | #727 |
| 1892 | 14 | #796 |
| 1893 | 15 | #767 |
| 1894 | 10 | #998 |
| 1895 | 19 | #725 |
| 1896 | 9 | #1,122 |
| 1897 | 9 | #1,094 |
| 1898 | 13 | #963 |
| 1899 | 14 | #878 |
| 1900 | 23 | #760 |
| 1901 | 8 | #1,227 |
| 1902 | 9 | #1,219 |
| 1903 | 16 | #862 |
| 1904 | 16 | #910 |
| 1905 | 17 | #900 |
| 1906 | 18 | #872 |
| 1907 | 17 | #923 |
| 1908 | 17 | #970 |
| 1909 | 18 | #961 |
| 1910 | 28 | #812 |
| 1911 | 21 | #958 |
| 1912 | 36 | #833 |
| 1913 | 25 | #1,091 |
| 1914 | 42 | #901 |
| 1915 | 55 | #885 |
| 1916 | 53 | #940 |
| 1917 | 55 | #933 |
| 1918 | 56 | #960 |
| 1919 | 40 | #1,177 |
| 1920 | 43 | #1,152 |
| 1921 | 48 | #1,092 |
| 1922 | 40 | #1,232 |
| 1923 | 52 | #1,054 |
| 1924 | 41 | #1,244 |
| 1925 | 34 | #1,376 |
| 1926 | 35 | #1,325 |
| 1927 | 39 | #1,261 |
| 1928 | 36 | #1,271 |
| 1929 | 42 | #1,137 |
| 1930 | 38 | #1,210 |
| 1931 | 40 | #1,127 |
| 1932 | 44 | #1,070 |
| 1933 | 43 | #1,062 |
| 1934 | 46 | #1,019 |
| 1935 | 47 | #1,004 |
| 1936 | 43 | #1,062 |
| 1937 | 71 | #815 |
| 1938 | 50 | #1,007 |
| 1939 | 77 | #775 |
| 1940 | 61 | #915 |
| 1941 | 81 | #802 |
| 1942 | 127 | #663 |
| 1943 | 121 | #691 |
| 1944 | 124 | #663 |
| 1945 | 132 | #634 |
| 1946 | 240 | #506 |
| 1947 | 430 | #385 |
| 1948 | 482 | #353 |
| 1949 | 406 | #395 |
| 1950 | 402 | #399 |
| 1951 | 466 | #379 |
| 1952 | 453 | #386 |
| 1953 | 495 | #382 |
| 1954 | 424 | #423 |
| 1955 | 387 | #458 |
| 1956 | 406 | #453 |
| 1957 | 475 | #432 |
| 1958 | 529 | #403 |
| 1959 | 522 | #414 |
| 1960 | 556 | #408 |
| 1961 | 668 | #372 |
| 1962 | 864 | #319 |
| 1963 | 1,120 | #264 |
| 1964 | 1,171 | #262 |
| 1965 | 1,532 | #216 |
| 1966 | 1,667 | #195 |
| 1967 | 1,760 | #183 |
| 1968 | 1,841 | #177 |
| 1969 | 2,492 | #134 |
| 1970 | 4,021 | #98 |
| 1971 | 5,359 | #64 |
| 1972 | 6,206 | #46 |
| 1973 | 7,228 | #34 |
| 1974 | 10,656 | #17 |
| 1975 | 12,926 | #13 |
| 1976 | 18,368 | #8 |
| 1977 | 24,846 | #4 |
| 1978 | 26,102 | #3 |
| 1979 | 27,780 | #4 |
| 1980 | 33,924 | #3 |
| 1981 | 42,531 | #2 |
| 1982 | 45,453 | #2 |
| 1983 | 45,283 | #2 |
| 1984 | 45,857 | #2 |
| 1985 | 48,345 | #1 |
| 1986 | 52,682 | #1 |
| 1987 | 55,992 | #1 |
| 1988 | 51,556 | #1 |
| 1989 | 47,887 | #1 |
| 1990 | 46,486 | #1 |
| 1991 | 43,398 | #2 |
| 1992 | 38,361 | #2 |
| 1993 | 34,993 | #1 |
| 1994 | 32,122 | #1 |
| 1995 | 27,941 | #1 |
| 1996 | 24,201 | #2 |
| 1997 | 21,045 | #2 |
| 1998 | 18,239 | #8 |
| 1999 | 16,350 | #9 |
| 2000 | 15,711 | #8 |
| 2001 | 13,925 | #11 |
| 2002 | 11,921 | #16 |
| 2003 | 10,454 | #18 |
| 2004 | 9,470 | #21 |
| 2005 | 8,115 | #27 |
| 2006 | 6,815 | #32 |
| 2007 | 5,714 | #42 |
| 2008 | 4,739 | #59 |
| 2009 | 3,801 | #78 |
| 2010 | 3,200 | #92 |
| 2011 | 2,626 | #118 |
| 2012 | 2,335 | #137 |
| 2013 | 1,951 | #164 |
| 2014 | 1,804 | #179 |
| 2015 | 1,592 | #206 |
| 2016 | 1,392 | #231 |
| 2017 | 1,292 | #246 |
| 2018 | 1,065 | #313 |
| 2019 | 970 | #331 |
| 2020 | 780 | #399 |
| 2021 | 656 | #477 |
| 2022 | 620 | #508 |
| 2023 | 550 | #549 |
| 2024 | 527 | #575 |
| 2025 | 424 | #665 |
How these numbers are counted
Social Security publishes, for every year since 1880, how many babies of each sex were given each name, counting any name given to at least 5. A name’s rank is its place that year among names for the same sex, by number of babies. Names with the same count share a rank here, while Social Security’s own lists break ties alphabetically, so a rank can differ from theirs by a place or two. A name’s share is the number of babies given it divided by all babies of that sex in the data that year, and its peak is the year that share was highest. Shares rather than counts set the peak, because far more babies were born in some years than others: counting babies alone would pull nearly every name’s peak toward the 1946–1964 baby boom.
Source: the U.S. Social Security Administration’s national baby name data, from Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S. A name is left out of a year when fewer than 5 babies of one sex got it, and counts before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a card. See how Baby Boom builds its data. Figures may contain errors.