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Jessica (given name)

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For other uses, see Jessica (disambiguation).
Jessica
Shylock and Jessica by Maurycy Gottlieb. The first use of the name Jessica is found in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice.
Pronunciation/ˈdʒɛsɪkə/
GenderFemale
Origin
Word/nameEnglish derived from Hebrew
MeaningForesighted, Wealthy, "He Sees"
Region of originHebrew
Popularitysee popular names

Jessica (also Jesica, Jessicah or Jessika[1]) 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 Iskah (from the Hebrew: יִסְכָּה : yiskāh), the name of a daughter of Haran briefly mentioned in the Book of Genesis in the Bible. Iskah was rendered "Jeska" in English Bibles available in Shakespeare's day.[2]

The original Hebrew name Yiskāh (יִסְכָּה), 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 yod, implies foresight or clairvoyance. Yiskah is the niece of Abraham.

"Jessica" was the most popular female baby name throughout the 1980s[3] and 1990s[4] in the United States, with popularity waning starting in 1998 through the early 2000s and falling out of the Top 20 by 2004.[5] It also rose to #1 in England and Wales in 2005,[6] dropping to #3 in 2006.[7] Common abbreviations of the name Jessica include "Jess" and "Jessie".

Name variations and nicknames

Jes', Jess, Jessi, Jessa, Jessie, Jas, Jesse (more common for males), Jessy, Jeska, Jessika, Jessicka, Jessyka, Sica, Yessika, Yesika. In many Asian countries Jessica is spelled Jassica.

Variants by culture:

  • Arabic: جيسيكا (Ǧysykā)
  • Albanian: Xhesika (Jesika)
  • Catalan: Jèssica
  • Chinese (Mandarin): 潔西卡, 杰西卡（Jiéxīkǎ, jie2 xi1 ka3）
  • Finnish: Jessika
  • French: Pachy
  • Frisian: Jesca
  • Gaelic: Seasaidh
  • Hindi: जेसिका (Jēsikā)
  • Hungarian: Dzsesszika ("Dzsessz": pro. "Jase". Hungarian phoneticisation of "Jazz music").
  • Inuktitut: ᔨᔅᓯᑲ (Jissika)
  • Italian: Gessica
  • Japanese: Jeshika (Hiragana: じぇしか, Katakana: ジェシカ)
  • Korean: 제시카 (Jeshika)
  • Lithuania: Džesika
  • Polish: Dżesika, Jesica
  • Portuguese: Jéssica/Jessica
  • Russian: Джессика (Džéssika)
  • Spanish: Yésica, Jésica
  • Thai: เจสสิก้า (Ces̄s̄ik̂ā)

Jewish variants & transliterations:

  • Hebrew: יִסְכָּה (Iscah)
  • Hungarian Yiddish: יִסְכָּה (Jiszká)
  • Yiddish: יִסְכָּה (Yiska)

Usage in Scotland

The Scottish variant of Jessie is Seasaìdh/Teasaìdh, (respectively pronounced "SHAY-say" and "CHEH-say"). It is important to note, however, that in Scotland the name Jessie is not related to Jessica. Instead, it is considered a pet form of the name Jean (feminised from John). This is expressed in Gaelic variants as the names Seana (Shawna) or Sìne (Sheena). Related feminine names taken from John are Jane/Joan (Sìne), Janie (Sìneag), and Janet/Janice (Seònaid); all are considered equated, though spelling may change slightly dependent upon what form of Gaelic (Irish or Scottish).

An additional nickname for Jessie, heard in Scotland, is Jinty (or Jinny). This may or may not be the case in Ireland or Northern Ireland. It hints at the connection there to Jean (female given name)/Jane//Jennie.

People

Fictional characters

See also

Notes

  1. ^ http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/0/Jesica
  2. ^ Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. A Dictionary of First Names. (1990). Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-211651-7.
  3. ^ Most Popular 1000 Names of the 1980s. Social Security Administration (SSA), United States. Retrieved February 22, 2007.
  4. ^ Most Popular 1000 Names of the 1990s. Social Security Administration (SSA), United States. Retrieved February 22, 2007.
  5. ^ http://www.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/popularnames.cgi
  6. ^ Baby Names, England and Wales, 2005. Office for National Statistics (ONS), United Kingdom. Released: 28 July 2011.
  7. ^ Baby Names, England and Wales, 2006. Office for National Statistics (ONS), United Kingdom. Released: 28 July 2011.
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