Jessie (given name)

Jessie is a given name in its own right, but may also be a nickname for the given name Jessica. It is generally considered the feminine form of Jesse.

Namesakes

Entertainment

Jessie Buckley, Irish entertainer and I'd Do Anything finalist
Jessie Camacho, American Survivor contestant
Jessie Flower (born 1994), American actress
Jessie Godderz, American Big Brother contestant
Jessie Mae Hemphill (1923–2006), American musician
Jessie J (born 1988), British singer
Jessie Royce Landis (1896–1972), American actress
Jessie Matthews (1907–1981), British actress and singer
Jessie Wallace (born 1971), British actress
Jessie Ward (born 1982), American actress
Jessie Ware (born 1984), British singer-songwriter

Politics

Jessie Daniel Ames (1883–1972), American civil rights activist
Jessie Cooper (1914–1993), Australian politician
Jessie M. Rattley (1929–2001), American mayor
Jessie Rooke (1845–1906), Australian suffragette and temperance reformer

Writers and artists

Jessie Brown Pounds (1861–1921), American writer of gospel songs
Jessie Oonark (1906–1985), Canadian Inuit artist
Jessie Pope (1868–1941), English World War I poet
Jessie Redmon Fauset (1882–1961), American writer

Sports

Jessie Britt (born 1963), American football player
Jessie Evans (basketball), American basketball coach
Jessie Hollins (1970–2009), American baseball player
Jessie Tuggle (born 1965), American football player
Jessie Ward (born 1979), American professional wrestler

Other people

Elaine Riddick Jessie (born 1954), American victim of forced sterilization
Jessie Foster (born 1985), Canadian prostitute
Jessie MacWilliams (1917–1990), English mathematician
Jessie Misskelley (born 1975), one of the West Memphis 3
Jessie Weston (1850–1928), British scholar and folklorist
Jessie E. Woods (1909–2001), American pilot

Fictional characters

Jessie (Pokémon)
Jessie (Toy Story)
Jessie Prescott
Jessie Jackson (Coronation Street)
Jessie Burlingame, a Gerald's Game character
Jessie Burlingame, a Wrong Turn character
Jessie Cates, a 'night, Mother character
Jessie McCarney, a Dead Rising character

Usage in Ireland and Scotland

It is important to note that in Celtic usage, Jessie is not related to Jessica. It is considered a pet form of the name Jane or Jean (feminisations of John). This is further expressed in Gaelic variants as the names Seana/Seóna (Shawna) or Sìne (Sheena). Related feminine names taken from John are Jane/Joan (Sìne), Janie (Sìneag), and Janet/Janice (Seònaid); all are considered equated, though spelling may change slightly dependent upon the form of Gaelic (Irish or Scottish).

An additional nickname for Jessie, heard in Scotland, is Jinty (or Jinny). This may or may not be the case in Ireland or Northern Ireland. It hints at the aforementioned connection there to Jean (female given name)/Jane/Jennie.

Also of note is that Jessie serves as an Anglicisation of the Gaelic root-word of "seas",^[1]^[2] meaning "to stand". In Irish Gaelige this is Seasaidh/Seasaídh (pro. "Sheh-see", emphasis on first syllable), which uses the fut. aff. conjugation of "seas". If using "seasaidh" but not as a given name, it is pronounced "shay-cee".

The Scots Gàidhlig variant is Teasaidh/Teasag, (pro. "Cheh-say"), though Seasaidh is also recognised.