Jessenia
A feminine name of Spanish origin referring to a type of palm tree.
Name Census estimates that about 5,229 living Americans carry the first name Jessenia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jessenia today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jessenia births was 1993 (219 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jessenia. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Jessenia with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
5.2K
~ 1 in 65,549 Americans
Peak year
1993
219 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,856
Tracked since 1971
Census
Jessenia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 5,051 people with the first name Jessenia, which placed it at #3,883 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#3,883
National first-name rank
People counted
5.1K
5,051 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
93.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jessenia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jessenia is Hispanic at 93.8%. The next largest groups are White (3.4%) and Black (1.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Jessenia described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Jessenia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino93.8% · 4,739
- White3.4% · 170
- Black or African American1.7% · 84
- Two or more races0.6% · 31
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 11
Popularity
Jessenia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jessenia from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 1,876 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jessenia by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Jessenia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jessenias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 17 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Jessenia, while Virginia, Oklahoma, Kansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 238 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jessenia
The name Jessenia is of Latin origin and can be traced back to the late medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Spanish word "jesenia," which means "jasmine." The name likely originated in Spain or other regions of the Iberian Peninsula where Spanish was spoken during the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Jessenia can be found in a 16th-century Spanish manuscript, which mentions a woman named Jessenia de Sotomayor. This historical document suggests that the name was already in use by the 1500s, although it was likely quite rare at the time.
Throughout the centuries, the name Jessenia has appeared in various historical records and texts, particularly in Spanish-speaking regions. In the late 17th century, a notable figure named Jessenia Ramírez was a prominent landowner and philanthropist in colonial Mexico. Her legacy includes the establishment of several charitable foundations and educational institutions.
Another notable bearer of the name was Jessenia Alvarez, a Cuban revolutionary who fought alongside Fidel Castro during the Cuban Revolution in the 1950s. She played a significant role in the guerrilla movement and was recognized for her bravery and dedication to the cause.
In the realm of literature, the name Jessenia appears in the works of several Spanish authors. One example is the novel "Las Memorias de Jessenia" by the 19th-century writer José María de Pereda, where the protagonist, Jessenia, is a strong-willed and independent woman who defies societal norms.
In the early 20th century, Jessenia González was a renowned Bolivian artist and sculptor. Her works were widely celebrated and exhibited in various galleries across South America, earning her recognition as one of the most influential artists of her time.
While the name Jessenia has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, it has been carried by notable individuals across various fields, from politics and literature to art and revolution. Its Spanish origins and connection to the fragrant jasmine flower have contributed to its enduring charm and cultural significance.
People
Jessenia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jessenia as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Jessenia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jessenia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5,229 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jessenia going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 65,549 US residents.
Is Jessenia a common name?
We classify Jessenia as "Rare". It ranks above 96.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5,406 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jessenia most popular?
The single biggest year for Jessenia was 1993, when 219 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jessenia is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jessenia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 5,051 people with the name Jessenia, or 1.67 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,883 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Jessenia in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Jessenia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jessenia appears almost entirely female. Of the 5,046 people counted with this name, 99.7% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Jessenia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jessenia is Hispanic at 93.8%. The next largest groups are White (3.4%) and Black (1.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Jessenia most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Jessenia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.8% (4,739 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Jessenia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jessenia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jessenia in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Jessenia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jessenia in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Jessenia can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Jessenia?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.