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Original poster

Can Jesse be unisex?

42 replies

NewYearNewHat · 15/01/2013 09:32

I love Jesse for a boy but am considering it also for a girl.
Does it need to be Jessie or do you think a girl could be spelt Jesse? What do you think?

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SundayMorningSun · 16/12/2019 02:37

Jessie on its own is fine. If you look back 100 years, it usually wasn't short for anything (Jessica wasn't common till the mid C20th).

I would use Jessie for a girl.

Poorolddaddypig · 16/12/2019 01:52

What’s a big Jesse? Confused

Sadboysleeplesssid · 16/12/2019 01:11

Well my name is Jessie, I was born a girl, but I prefer spelling Jesse, as it is more gender neutral and I just prefer the spelling without the i
I think jesse/jessie should be a gender neutral name and it should be down to the preferred spelling

bigbluebump · 24/01/2013 12:04

I think Jess or Jesse looks more elegant than Jessie (which looks a little twee and cutesy).

delilah88 · 24/01/2013 09:12

Jesse is fine for a girl. Patti Smith's daughter is called Jesse x

thegreylady · 21/01/2013 18:27

I love Jessamy.Jessica,Jessie and Jess
Jesse for a boy would work better in the US than here I think.

Katydive · 20/01/2013 17:08

I do love Jesse for a boy, it conjures up cowboy images for me, Jesse James for instance, but however much I like it (it was on my shortlist last time) most people actually expressed horror for a boy with the whole 'you big Jesse' phrase, I felt it would have been too much of a risk on the kid, it's still well known enough round here for me!

AKissIsNotAContract · 20/01/2013 17:01

I know a girl called Jessamin.

Top1000NameChange · 20/01/2013 17:00

I am the Jessamy- or rather, I am at least the one that posted on "what is your name" thread Grin

It is an old name, as has been said. My mother discovered it through this 19th C author (The Jessamy Bride) but it pre-dates that as mentioned upthread.

Wolfcub · 20/01/2013 11:14

Yes my aunt was a Jesse and it was one of my first choices if we'd had a girl

clarehk · 20/01/2013 11:06

My daughter is called Jesse (without the i). We were thinking of it for a boy, but when a girl popped out, and we didn't have a girls name, we just stuck with it. I know it's really a boy's spelling but I didn't want Jessica, and to me, Jessie is just short for Jessica. Jesse is a name in it's own right. And so many names are spelt so many different ways these days I think we can get away with it. And I LOVE it now!

monica77798 · 17/01/2013 14:15

"I don't think anybody has called anybody else a big Jessie since 1971!"

Lol, perhaps not. But in my mind I still associate the name "Jesse" with a homophobic slur. Even though kids today don't still say it I'm sure many of them are aware of it or will pick it up from old TV shows etc.

schplappo · 16/01/2013 18:15

My granny was a Jessie. I think Jesse is a boy. Lovely name for either.

TessOfTheBaublevilles · 16/01/2013 13:02

Jessamy is another form of Jessamine, which stems from Jasmine, and is a very old name.

EmpressOfThePuddle · 15/01/2013 23:47

The web says Jessamy's a variant of Jasmine, first appeared in the 1630s but wasn't really used as a name until the late 1700s.

Yes, Jessamine's beautiful.

Clawdy · 15/01/2013 22:33

What about Jessamine,like the song? lovely girl's name.

lottiegarbanzo · 15/01/2013 22:20

I really quite like Jessamy.

Maybe it's recently made up but it sounds old, somehow.

AlexanderS · 15/01/2013 20:18

I don't think anybody has called anybody else a big Jessie since 1971!

Generally it's Jesse for a boy and Jessie for a girl, but Jesse can be be used for a girl and 20 people decided to do this in England and Wales in 2011. If you do that though your little girl can look forward to a lifetime of people thinking she's a boy before they actually meet her e.g. when she applies for jobs.

Sonatensatz · 15/01/2013 19:02

Jesse is a hebrew boys name meaning 'the Lord exists'.It is Found in the bible it's the name of King David's father.

ErikNorseman · 15/01/2013 13:31

Oh you're right. I stand corrected!

EmpressOfThePuddle · 15/01/2013 12:49

All the Jessamys coming up on Google are female.

I'd agree about the 'You big Jessie' issue for boys. I think it might be one of those names that works better in the US.

ErikNorseman · 15/01/2013 12:40

Jessamy is a boy's name, really though.

TessOfTheBaublevilles · 15/01/2013 12:25

Jessamy is lovely.

I believe there is a MNetter called Jessamy, she posted in the 'what is your name' thread.

lottiegarbanzo · 15/01/2013 11:46

Back to your girl's name, you could use Jasmine or even Jocelyn and, eccentrically, shorten to Jessie.

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