Jessicca

Meaning & origin

Jessicca is a modern respelling of Jessica, a name brought into the English lexicon by Shakespeare in the late 16th century. Unlike the widespread popularity of Jessica, which peaked as the number one name for girls in the United States during the 1980s and 1990s, Jessicca has remained a rare variant. It first appeared in recorded use in 1971, and its peak year was 1990, though even then it did not rank among the top one thousand names. The name has maintained a stable but extremely low usage into 2025. Its rarity means it has no strong association with any particular state or region. The spelling with double 'c' represents a typical late-20th-century trend toward distinctive variants of common names, a pattern also seen in names like Brittney and Krystle. Parents choosing Jessicca today are often seeking a familiar sound with a visually unique presentation.

Jessicca is a modern respelling of Jessica, a name invented by William Shakespeare for the character Jessica in his play The Merchant of Venice (c. 1596). Shakespeare likely adapted the name from the Hebrew Yiskah (also spelled Iscah), the name of a niece of Abraham in the Book of Genesis, which is traditionally interpreted as "to behold" or "foresight." The double 'c' spelling Jessicca emerged in the late 20th century as a creative variant, gaining some usage in the United States during the 1970s and 1980s, but never reaching the popularity of the standard spelling.