Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

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?

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Set a reminder
New posts on this thread. Refresh page
PlantPotting · 16/12/2019 02:44

ZOMBIE THREAD🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨

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.