Jessa

Meaning of Jessa

Jessa is a pocket-sized firework: she burst onto U.S. birth lists in the 1970s, popped up to her brightest glow around 2015, and still flickers cheerfully in the 800-range today. Her passport traces to Jessica—ultimately from the Hebrew Yiskah, “to behold”—yet she also borrows the jasmine-sweet perfume of Jessamine, so she’s equal parts star-gazer and flower girl. Say her once, “JES-uh,” and the sound skips off the tongue like a pebble over water; say it twice and it turns into a mini-fiesta, all clapping palms and confetti. Parents love that she feels friendly like “Jess,” but ends with the breezy “-a” that spices up names from Sofia to Valentina—un poquito sabor for the corazón. Pop-culture has handed her guitars (think folksy singer Jessa Anderson) and reality-TV sparkle (Jessa Duggar Seewald), but she stays refreshingly down-to-earth, the girl who trades daisies for high fives. In short, Jessa is a bright snapshot: quick, warm, and forever ready to be beheld.