Jessa is a short form of Jessica, the name Shakespeare created for Shylock's daughter in The Merchant of Venice, probably from the biblical Iscah, usually explained as "to behold" or "foresight". Reality TV star Jessa Duggar of 19 Kids and Counting likely helped the name in the 2010s. Jessa entered the US top 1000 in 2012 and peaked at number 545 in 2015, but has fallen fast since and ranks 2225 in 2025 with 83 births.