Jesse
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Hebrew of biblical origin. From Ancient Greek Ἰεσσαί (Iessaí), from Hebrew יִשַׁי (Yishai).
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Jesse (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Jesse has been falling over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2017. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1998 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | – |
| 2002 | – |
| 2003 | – |
| 2004 | 5 |
| 2005 | 7 |
| 2006 | 10 |
| 2007 | 7 |
| 2008 | 5 |
| 2009 | 7 |
| 2010 | 5 |
| 2011 | 9 |
| 2012 | 8 |
| 2013 | 11 |
| 2014 | 8 |
| 2015 | 5 |
| 2016 | 8 |
| 2017 | 15 |
| 2018 | 4 |
| 2019 | 10 |
| 2020 | 5 |
| 2021 | 5 |
| 2022 | 4 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls | Men and boys |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | – | 143 |
| 2000 | – | 149 |
| 2001 | – | 160 |
| 2002 | – | 170 |
| 2003 | – | 178 |
| 2004 | – | 184 |
| 2005 | – | 190 |
| 2006 | – | 203 |
| 2007 | – | 216 |
| 2008 | – | 222 |
| 2009 | – | 226 |
| 2010 | – | 236 |
| 2011 | – | 247 |
| 2012 | – | 256 |
| 2013 | – | 271 |
| 2014 | – | 287 |
| 2015 | – | 296 |
| 2016 | – | 307 |
| 2017 | – | 336 |
| 2018 | – | 343 |
| 2019 | – | 352 |
| 2020 | 10 | 359 |
Jesse in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Jesse.Hi! My name is Jesse.
- Jesse ringde och sa att han blir lite sen.Jesse called and said he'll be a bit late.
- Jag ska fika med Jesse i eftermiddag.I'm having coffee with Jesse this afternoon.
- Jesses mamma är lärare.Jesse's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Jesses mamma is Jesse's mum.
More names
Questions about Jesse
How do you pronounce Jesse in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Jesse in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Jesse mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Hebrew of biblical origin. From Ancient Greek Ἰεσσαί (Iessaí), from Hebrew יִשַׁי (Yishai).
How popular is Jesse in Sweden?
4 babies were named Jesse in 2022. In 2020, 369 people in Sweden had Jesse as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been falling lately and peaked in 2017 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.