Jessica and some alternatives

Last year Jessica was the #1 name in England, around #6 in Australia and #5 in NZ. Etymologically, Jessica supposedly hails from the Hebrew name Yiscah, though Shakespeare was the first recorded user of this name - in the Merchant of Venice as the daughter of the Jewish money lender Shylock.

Yiscah means 'Yahweh beholds' or 'God beholds'. Though Jessica may also mean wealth.

Famous Jessicas include actresses Jessica Alba and Biel, and singer Jessica Simpson. There is also the fictional character Jessica Rabbit. Jessicas also class among Oscar winners - with Jessica Tandy and Lange winning awards.

Jessica is very much a name of the 80s and 90s. Especially in America where it was #1 for 9 years between 85 and 95, and the top 5 from 1977-95. It's big year was 1987 when almost 56000 babies were named Jessica in the USA. It was even in the top 1000 boys names from 1977-91, peaking at #579 in 1985, with 229 boys being given that name.

It may not be an ultra-popular name anymore, Jessica is now one of those names that the universities are full of. So what are the alternatives:

1) 'Jes' names:
Jessenia
Jessamine
Yiscah

Containing elements of Jessica:
Jasmine
Justine
Josephine
Jocelyn
Jacinthe
Joyce
Jenna
Jemima
Odessa
Vanessa
Altessa
Cressida
Monica
Veronica
Erica
Fredrica
Rebecca
Bianca
Francesca

2) The meaning (Yahweh beholds, the Lord's gift):
Dorothea
Eudora
Godiva
Hadiyya
Isidora
Mattea
Theodora
Atiya
Callidora
Donata


3) Random connections (this is where I really on Babynamer on Oxygen):
(One I thought up myself) Any Alba name after Jessica Alba - Albinia, Rosalba etc.
(Another one of mine) Another Shakespeare name - Nerissa, Portia, Juliet, Ophelia etc.
(BNoO from now on):
Angela - from Angela Lansbury who plays Jessica Fletcher on 'Murder She Wrote'
Similar names according to BNoO:
Jennifer
Deborah
Maria
Janet
Jacoba
Jaleesa