Girl · Hebrew (via Shakespeare) · Christian · International
Jessica
JessicaSay it JES-i-kuh
- Meaning today
- God beholds
- Original meaning
- "probably Iscah (Hebrew Yiskah), which Strong's gives as 'observant'" Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, H3252
- Say it
- JES-i-kuh
- Other spellings
- Jesica, Jessika
Jessica
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Jessica meaning
Jessica is a Christian and international girl's name of Hebrew origin (via Shakespeare).
Meaning today
God beholds
Original Hebrew (via Shakespeare) meaning
"probably Iscah (Hebrew Yiskah), which Strong's gives as 'observant'"
Source: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890), Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary, H3252 · entry Yickah (Yiskah) · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026
Jessica first appears in English as the name of Shylock's daughter in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, written in the 1590s. It is usually taken to be his form of Iscah, a niece of Abraham named only once in Genesis (11:29), whose name was spelt Iesca or Iisca in some English Bibles of his day. Strong's Concordance gives Iscah, the Hebrew Yiskah, as "observant", from a root meaning to watch. Name lists today give "God beholds" or "he sees", which is not the sense Strong's records, and modern scholars regard Iscah's own etymology as uncertain. Jessica is used in Christian families in India, often shortened to Jess.
References: Strong's Hebrew 3252, Yiskah (Bible Hub) · Wikipedia, Jessica (given name) · Wikipedia, Iscah
Famous namesakes
- Jessica, Shylock's daughter in The Merchant of Venice
Popularity abroad
- #665 United States, girls 2025 (down 90 from 575 in 2024)
US Social Security Administration - #139 England and Wales, girls 2025
Office for National Statistics
Official birth registrations. India publishes no national name statistics.
Spellings
Jessica · Jesica · Jessika