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Can we talk about Jessie?
Jessica ranked in the US Top Ten from 1976 through 2000, spending several years in the #1 spot. There are a lot of moms named Jessica right about now. Some are Jess, others are Jessica-in-full-thanks, and some answer to Jessie.
Fun fact: Jessie evolved as a Scottish diminutive for Jean. Only later did we connect it with Jessica. So Jessie is, in a round-about way, another feminine form of John.
There’s also the Biblical Jesse, popular for boys during the Jessica era. It’s sometimes spelled Jessie, too. Iditarod champion Jessie Holmes comes to mind.
Now musical theater alum Jessie Buckley has graduated to Oscar-winning actress, after her performance in Hamnet. She’s just Jessie, not Jessica or even Jessamine.
And, of course, Toy Story 5 comes out this summer, bringing cowgirl Jessie back to life on the big screen. We’ve been watching her adventures since 1999’s Toy Story 2.
Jessie fits perfectly with the names we love for our daughters now: Sadie, Charlie, Scottie.
But Jessie is falling out of favor, too attached to those previous hits.
Could that reverse?
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Jimmy Kimmel highlighted the daring, even daffy names of college athletes, including West Alabama basketball star Amillion Buggs. He seems amazingly chill about his name, and it reminded me: we really don’t know how it’s going to work out when we choose something unusual for our kids. Maybe they’ll hate it … maybe they’ll shine. (Side note: hearing Amillion Buggs pronounced by sports announcers with a hint of a Southern accent is too fun. Clips in the Jimmy Kimmel show link above.)
Everything you ever wanted to know about the letter X, except possibly some of the best names containing X. I have a list of names starting with X for boys, and another for girls. Plus this one of boys’ names ending with X. I feel like there’s another list here, too, that needs to be gathered …
These personalized sweaters from Name Knits are so sweet, but what really caught my eye? The names she shares on her Insta: Peggy, Primrose, Enid, Douglas, Fergus, Ernie. She’s British, of course, but still … these are just delightful!
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Maeve, because it was just St. Patrick’s Day and this is the reigning Irish girl’s name in the US now.
Anselm because who doesn’t love an overlooked saint’s name that sounds like a very British gentleman?
And Jeremy, which lately sounds less like a fading favorite and more like a neglected classic, in the key of Timothy and Gregory.
That’s all for right now. As always, thank you for reading and have a great week!
