Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Jess?
Births per year, rank history and how many Jesses are alive today.
Jess (female) is a shortened form of the name Jessica. Although Jess itself was given to 3 babies in England and Wales in 2024 (ranked 5892nd as a registered name), most Jesses are registered as Jessica, which ranked 139th in 2025 with 360 babies.
Most people called Jess are registered as Jessica, and share that name's profile: the Jessica you are most likely to meet is around 32 years old. Half of all Jessicas born in England and Wales are between 18 and 33, and there are at least 160,000 of them alive today. Only some Jessicas go by Jess.
How many babies are named Jess or Jessica each year?
Combined registrations of Jessica, Jess. Figures before 1996 are estimates.
Where does Jessica rank as a registered name?
Where does Jess rank as a registered name?
Where this data comes from
Figures from 1996 onwards are the Office for National Statistics' annual baby-name registrations for England and Wales, which record every name given to three or more babies in a year. Figures before 1996 are estimates: the ONS published only top-100 rankings at ten-year intervals back to 1904, so counts for those years are modelled from the rankings, calibrated against Douglas Galbi's long-run research into English name frequencies, and shown with an uncertainty band. Estimates of living bearers combine these birth figures with national life tables and ONS mid-year population estimates.
One limit worth naming: these figures count names as registered at birth. Anyone who changes their name later in life - including trans people, and anyone who adopts a different name by deed poll or simply by use - is not reflected here. Birth registrations record where a name began, not the name a person lives with.
Common questions
Is Jess short for Jessica?
Yes - Jess is a shortened form of Jessica. Jesses are usually registered as Jessica at birth.
When was the name Jess most popular?
The full name Jessica peaked in 1994, when around 8,100 babies in England and Wales were given the name. Jess itself peaked as a registered name in 2005, with 37 babies.
How many people are called Jess?
There's no official count of people who go by Jess, because it's a nickname rather than a registered name. What we can say: at least 160,000 people registered as Jessica born in England and Wales are alive today, and some of them go by Jess.
How old is the typical Jess?
Most people called Jess are registered as Jessica. Most living Jessicas are between 18 and 33; the most common age is about 32.
Is Jess becoming more or less popular?
Declining: recent figures are a fraction of the 1994 peak.