first name
JESS
of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census
Of the 18,154 people named Jess, 75% reported their origin as White, 13.9% as Hispanic or Latino and 3.9% as Asian or Pacific Islander. 70.1% are male. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.
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Jess peaked in 1915, when 584 babies got the name.
At least 25,550 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.
Jess by decade
Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1880s, when it ranked #286. The largest share of babies named Jess, 23.7%, were born between 1901 and 1927, the Greatest Generation's birth years.
Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.
Where Jess is most common
Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Jess has been most common in Oklahoma (5.1×), California (2.3×), and Colorado (2.3×), and least common in Massachusetts (0.09×).
16,265 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.
Either side of Jess
Spelled almost the same
8 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Jess, most common first.
Also a last name
As a last name, Jess ranks #18,031 of 156,621, with 1,526 people. See Jess as a last name
Compare
🔎 JESS 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦⬜⬜ 1 in 16,637 Americans Rarer than 76.5% of us Peaked in 1915 with 584 babies Beat that 👇 https://howrareismy.name/first/jess/