Gender Masculine
Scripts יִשַׁי(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced Pron. JEHS-ee(English) YEH-sə(Dutch) YEHS-seh(Finnish)  [key·IPA]

Meaning & History

From Ἰεσσαί (Iessai), the Greek form of the Hebrew name יִשַׁי (Yishai), which possibly means "gift". In the Old Testament Jesse is the father of King David. It began to be used as an English given name after the Protestant Reformation. A famous bearer was Jesse James (1847-1882), an American outlaw who held up banks and stagecoaches. He was eventually shot by a fellow gang member for a reward. Another famous bearer was the American athlete Jesse Owens (1913-1980), whose real name was James Cleveland (or J. C.) Owens.

Related Names

VariantsJessie, Jessy(English)
DiminutiveJess(English)
Other Languages & CulturesIessai(Biblical Greek) Yishai(Biblical Hebrew) Iesse(Biblical Latin) Jessé, Jessy(French) Yishai(Hebrew) Jessé(Portuguese)
Same SpellingJessé
User SubmissionJesse

People think this name is

youthful   informal   common   natural   wholesome   strong   strange   simple  

Name Days

Finland: August 13

Categories

Entry updated June 9, 2023