She’s a refreshing twist on a tired botanical.
Thanks to Corinne for suggesting Jessamine as Name of the Day.
Jasmine is a Disney princess. Her heyday was the 90s, following the release of Aladdin, but she remains in the Top 100 throughout the English-speaking world. She’s also inspired creative coinages aplenty like Jazzmin, Jaslyn and Jaslene.
Nouveau variants aside, Jasmine remains as wearable a floral as Lily or Rose.
Thanks to Rita Hayworth’s daughter Yasmin Aga Khan, British-Iranian model Yasmin Le Bon and Baywatch-alum Yasmine Bleeth, the Arabic versions of the names are also familiar in the US and can be found in the Top 1000.
Jessamine remains the rarest bloom. The Arabic yasmin or yasamin became jessemin in medieval French, and eventually jasmin in French and jasmine in English. Jessamine held on as a sometimes-given name, along with Jessamy and Jessamyn, but none of the three were ever common. One notable bearer was the writer Jessamyn West, a California Quaker remembered for her 1945 novel The Friendly Persuasion – and for sharing a family tree with Richard Nixon.
Like many a flower, jasmine has meanings attached. The Victorians attributed different meanings to different colors of jasmine. White signified amiability; yellow meant grace. The blooms have meanings elsewhere in the world, too:
- Jasmine is the national flower of the Philippines and Pakistan;
- Damascus, Syria is known as the City of Jasmines;
- They’re used in wedding ceremonies in Indonesia;
- India and Thailand are big on jasmines, too.
Strictly speaking jessamine refers to cestrums, while jasmine is a different plant. Both have much in common and share etymological roots, so unless you’re a botanist – or trying to grow cestrums in northern climes – you can forget that fact. You won’t find a cestrum in the UK, though you’re slightly more likely to find a Jessamine there.
Jessamine straddles Europe and the East, and also offers a satisfying mix of the feminine and the tailored. If Madeline and Caroline are too common for your tastes, Jessamine might offer an alternative. She’d also work well in the middle spot. And Jessamine is far more interesting than fading 80s favorite Jessica.
Choose this for your daughter and she’ll have nickname options aplenty, including:
- Tomboyish Jessie or Jess;
- Even Sam could be pulled out of Jessamine, though it is a stretch;
- Girlier options include Mina/Minna and Jessa.
The pronunciation is often listed as JESS ah meen, but in the US, you’d probably hear JESS ah min.
Perhaps the only issue for parents seeking an underused gem is the possible perception that Jessamine is a modern creation, a mash-up of Jessica and any of the ends-in-ine choices. Choose the Jessamyn spelling and the name appears even closer to Jazlynn.
If that bothers you, there are plenty of other choices to consider. But Jessamine truly is an elegant, little used choice that bridges the East and the West, the modern and the medieval.
Sarah says
April 30, 2012 at 10:10 PMWhen I was young, I read a Sweet Valley Twins book about their family past, “coincidentally” full of twins. One of them was a Jessamine. I loved the name then and I still think it’s beautiful. I don’t care for Jess or Jessie as nicknames, but I like the old west like quality of Jessamine. I can see an old saloon girl going by Jessamine. Am I the only one who remembers this book? I would say circa 1994?
Lauren says
July 21, 2011 at 2:48 PMThere’s also a quirky (not in a funny way, but in an unusual way) young adult book called The Strange Night Writing of Jessamine Coulter, with a protagonist named Calamine (after the lotion). It’s a good book but prevented me from liking the nickname Callie or Jessamine.
Jessamine says
February 19, 2010 at 5:42 PMJessamine is my actual name (pronounced Jes-sah-meen) and I adore it. As a kid, I had to politely insist that it not be shortened to ‘Jess’ by lazy folks, but I was always so proud of this unique name that I never minded. I believe that it is a good name for an independent, creative, but also kind of classic person; moreover, it’s a great name if you imagine your child as a world traveler, as almost every non-western country has a reasonable variation for this name.
Lady Gwyn says
February 9, 2010 at 11:02 PMI adore Jessamine! It’s in my Top Ten! I think it’s gorgeous, and I really love French names, so this really does it for me. So don’t everyone go and use it, ’cause I don’t want it to get to popular before I use it!
Laney McDonald says
February 6, 2010 at 12:50 AMI really don’t care for Jessamine. I wouldn’t mind it so much on another person’s kid, it’s just not for me.
Mina is adorable though, and Sailor Moon has nothing to do with it. Lol Minna is ok too, but 1. it will probably be misspelled, and 2. Minna means ‘everyone’ in Japanese. Close to the same pronunciation, but Mina just looks better on paper.
Jessa is cute too, but I worry that alot of people would associate it with the Duggars, not a bad association, but I don’t want to make it seem like I’m copying them.
Panya says
January 30, 2010 at 1:36 AMI like Jessamine [JESS-uh-min], Jasmine [JAZ-min] and Yasmine [yahs-MEEN], in that order. I could never use any of them myself though, unwanted associations and such. But I love hearing them on others.
Corinne says
January 28, 2010 at 11:56 PMOh my lovely Jessamine. I SO adore this one. I’d use it up front in a heartbeat were it not for the fact that I would never get the proper pronunciation (I say jess-uh-MIN). There’d be a lot of jess-uh-MINE and some jess-uh-MEEN, and I don’t like either of those. So I’ve lovingly placed Jessamine in the middle, and there she shall stay for now. Le sigh.
Katie says
January 28, 2010 at 8:36 PMI know a Jessamina which is also a nice name and Mina is a great nickname.
caroline says
January 28, 2010 at 4:50 PMI actually think this is a lovely name, though I don’t usually like such frilly-ness. Much more refined that Jasmine or Yasmin, it evokes kind of a colonial India feel to me. I prefer Jes-se-min to Jes-se-meen, which really is a bit overwrought for my tastes.
Sebastiane says
January 28, 2010 at 2:03 PMI love this, and definitely prefer this to Yasmine or Jasmine, both of which I find too frilly and a bit downmarket. I pronounce it (JES-se-MIN). Minnie would also be a cute nickname option.
Joy says
January 28, 2010 at 2:02 PMI wouldn’t use it, but I would love it on someone else. Lovely floral name that has a genteel quality.
JNE says
January 28, 2010 at 1:27 PMIt’s a little frilly for me, but I don’t dislike it. I think I prefer Yasmin (and definitely like -min over -mean at the end). I have jasmine growing in my yard and it is one of my favorite plants, which is a nice association. The Jess start feels a bit dated, but it is a nice sound (Jessica was popular for a reason)… Overall it’s a nice, feminine name, but it’s not for me personally.