Jessie began as a Scottish pet form of Jean and Janet, the feminine of John, "God is gracious", and in the United States it is also the familiar form of Jessica, which Shakespeare coined from the Hebrew Yiskah, "to behold". The yodeling cowgirl Jessie in Toy Story 2 made the name a childhood favorite from 1999 on. Jessie ranked number 400 in 2000 and has gradually declined since to number 824 in 2025.