Boy · Hebrew · International · Christian
Jesse
JesseSay it JESS-ee
- Meaning today
- Gift, god's gift, god exists
- Original meaning
- "Hebrew Yishay; Strong's glosses it "extant"; BDB calls the etymology dubious" Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, H3448
- Say it
- JESS-ee
- Other spellings
- Jessy
Jesse
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Jesse meaning
Jesse is an international and Christian boy's name of Hebrew origin.
Meaning today
Gift, god's gift, god exists
Original Hebrew meaning
"Hebrew Yishay; Strong's glosses it "extant"; BDB calls the etymology dubious"
Source: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890), Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary, H3448 · entry Yishay · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026
Jesse comes from the Hebrew name Yishay, borne in the Bible by the father of King David. Isaiah's prophecy of a shoot growing from 'the stem of Jesse' made the name well known to Christians, and the Jesse Tree in church art traces Jesus's descent from him. Strong's Concordance connects Yishay with yesh, 'there is', and glosses it 'extant', while Brown-Driver-Briggs calls the etymology dubious. Baby-name lists usually give 'gift' or 'God's gift'. We could not find that sense in the Hebrew lexicons, so it seems to be a later reading. Jesse is said JESS-ee and sits easily with most Indian surnames.
References: Strong's H3448, Yishay (with BDB and NAS entries) · Isaiah 11:1 · Wikipedia, Jesse Owens
Famous namesakes
- Jesse, father of King David in the Hebrew Bible
- Jesse Owens, American Olympic sprinter
Popularity abroad
- #184 United States, boys 2025 (up 1 from 185 in 2024)
US Social Security Administration - #51 England and Wales, boys 2025
Office for National Statistics
Official birth registrations. India publishes no national name statistics.
Spellings
Jesse · Jessy