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Original poster

Is Jessica considered a classic?!

39 replies

stopitcaroline · 24/04/2015 17:23

I was reading through the thread on the most common girls names and someone mentioned Jessica as a classic. This blows my mind, but I am trying to keep in mind that I'm American and here Jessica is dated, like Brittany and Tiffany. I realize Jessica was invented by Shakespeare, but to me it seems less classic than even borderline classic names like those everybody was fighting about on the thread (Sophia, Isabella, Lily, etc.) And of course it has nothing at all on true (to me) classics like Elizabeth, Katherine, Jane, Anne, Caroline, Sarah, and Margaret.

So, wdyt? Is Jessica a classic name?

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PeppermintCrayon · 24/04/2015 17:30

I think it's a classic and not like Brittany etc at all.

Original poster
stopitcaroline · 24/04/2015 17:31

I guess "classic" is culturally specific. Well, obviously, but I assumed the definition would be similar in the US and UK, since we basically model ourselves after you, but... interesting!

OP posts:
mynameisnotmichaelcaine · 24/04/2015 17:35

I don't think it's like Brittany, but equally do not think of it as a classic.

PurpleSwift · 24/04/2015 17:37

I wouldn't consider it Classic, no

Original poster
stopitcaroline · 24/04/2015 17:38

Ha, I should have been more specific. It was popular at the same time as Brittany and Tiffany. To me, it's much nicer. It's more like Jennifer (which I know was popular in the UK far before it was popular in the US) or Amanda.

OP posts:
squoosh · 24/04/2015 17:39

Depends on your cultural references and your definition of classic I suppose.

To me Brittany and Tiffany are 1980's Sweet Valley High style names and I definitely wouldn't put Jessica alongside them! But equally I wouldn't say Jessica is classic in the way that Anne is.

toddlerwrangling · 24/04/2015 17:42

Well one of the main characters in Sweet Valley High is called Jessica! I don't think of it as classic - as pp have said, instead dated but not trashy, like Jennifer. For some reason I know lots of little Jessicas at the moment though so maybe it's having a resurgence.

squoosh · 24/04/2015 17:43

Even if it seems a bit dated its Shakespearean connection will always be its 'get out of jail free' card.

vitaminC · 24/04/2015 17:43

It wasn't invited by Shakespeare ! It's a biblical (Hebrew) name, so it's definitely a traditional name.

To me, classic names are timeless and exist across all generations without going in or out of fashion.
I'm not sure whether that's really the case with Jessica, although I suspect so. I've only ever met one, so I don't think it's ever been popular like it was in the states!

squoosh · 24/04/2015 17:44

Ha! good point toddler. Forgot about that. Grin

Who was her sister, Elizabeth? So Jessica and Elizabeth's parents had good taste at least.

squoosh · 24/04/2015 17:45

I think its Hebrew form is something like Iesca.

squoosh · 24/04/2015 17:46

Wikipedia says Iscah.

Original poster
stopitcaroline · 24/04/2015 18:23

www.behindthename.com/name/jessica

He probably based it on Iscah.

OP posts:
Momagain1 · 24/04/2015 18:31

Jessica was popular in the US before the Brittany & Tiffany era. I knew several that pre-date that era.

Original poster
stopitcaroline · 24/04/2015 18:40

They were popular roughly during the same times. Of course Jessica was more popular than either. It was a mega trend here. Here's a graph that explains it:

www.behindthename.com/top/search.php?terms=Jessica%2C+Brittany%2C+Tiffany&region=united-states&gender=both

OP posts:
wigglesrock · 24/04/2015 19:20

I actually think it's very dated - I don't really get the appeal of it, I know it's very popular and I know quite a few of all ages but it just leaves me a bit cold, a bit insipid.

toddlerwrangling · 24/04/2015 19:26

That's a fun name tool stopitcaroline! :)

Blahia · 24/04/2015 21:19

Definitely not classic in my opinion!! And I don't like it.... ;)

ParkingFred · 24/04/2015 21:24

I think of it as a 70s/80s name & definitely not a classic.

Pandora37 · 25/04/2015 02:19

Jessica is what I think of as a modern classic - so not timeless in the same way Elizabeth is but classic in the sense Jessica is popular across a few decades (in the UK at least) and across social classes. I've known of 4 baby Jessicas born in the past year which surprised me but according to the UK stats it's still extremely popular and has been for a long time.

reuset · 25/04/2015 10:36

I'd say it wasn't a classic, an enduring classic anyway. A classic for me is a name remaining popular (e.g. top 100) throughout the decades.

RoganJosh · 25/04/2015 10:40

I hear it as a bit 80s or 90s, kind of like Abbie, so not super dated but not a classic either.

Haahoooo · 25/04/2015 10:43

I am a Jessica. The name has been in the top 10 or 20 for a really long time, but funnily enough I never meet any other Jessica's my age (mid 30s). I have met a few baby Jessica's recently.

I like my name, and also like being called Jess.

TondelayoSchwarzkopf · 25/04/2015 10:50

It's a lovely name - I don't get the hand wringing about whether it is a Timeless Classic or a Modern Classic or Eighties. It's just a bloody name.

That said I have a fabulous naff 70s / 80s name whereas my sisters are Timeless Classics. I think I like my name more than they like theirs.

reuset · 25/04/2015 10:59

I am a Jessica. The name has been in the top 10 or 20 for a really long time, but funnily enough I never meet any other Jessica's my age (mid 30s). I have met a few baby Jessica's recently.

Yep, must be approx 20 years, top 20. Though it began to become quite popular in the 80s as I think a pp has mentioned. I suppose a point to consider that if it continues to remain in the top 100, as it has, it may be considered a new classic. "Not yet" should have been my initial answer to the OP.