Jessica (English)

Where does "Jessica" come from?

The female given name 'Jessica' was first used by William Shakespeare in his play The Merchant of Venice in the early seventeenth century[1]. The name is likely derived from the Hebrew proper name 'יִסְכָּה' meaning 'Iscah in Genesis 11:29, Jescha in the Wycliffe version', which stems from a root meaning 'to see, behold, look for'[1]. Through folk etymology, it has also sometimes been regarded as an elaborate form of 'Jessie' from 'Jane'[1].

Open questions

• The exact derivation and historical connection to the Hebrew proper name remain uncertain, with alternative proposals linking it to different biblical roots. [1] [2]

Full etymology tree

• Jessica (English), 'A female given name from Hebrew.'
  • derived יסכה (yiská) (Hebrew), 'Iscah, sister of Lot'

Descendants and derived words

• Jesse (English)
• Jess (English)
• Jessa (English)
• Jesse (English)
• Jessi (English)
• Jessie (English)
• Jessie (English)
• Jessie (English)
• Jessie (English)
• Jessy (English)
• Jessy (English)

Sources

1. Jessica (English) - Wiktionary
2. יסכה (yiská) (Hebrew) - Wiktionary

Updated August 2026

More words starting with J

Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris