Skip to main content

Jessamine, Jessamyn, Jessimond

jessamine plant baby name 

Jessamine (JESS-ah-meen, JESS-uh-min), thankfully, has been getting attention in recent years. I credit that to baby naming websites that have message boards, but who knows. Jessamine is the archaic French, medieval English, and Persian for "jasmine,” although there is a strong case that she comes from Ismenia, Isemene, which is a Greek name meaning “knowledge.” Variants that became obsolete included Jessamy, from Jessamie, Jessima, Jacamine, and Jessamyn. Jesmond is likely related, and she comes with her own variants, including Jessimond, Ghismond, Ghismonda, and Jesmaine.

Jessamyn is probably the most used variant. Jessamyn West was an American Quaker and writer best known for The Friendly Persuasion in 1945. Another Jessamyn West is a librarian and blogger. Like Clary, she's also a character in a Cassandra Clare series which is rapidly gaining popularity. Nicknames can range from Jessica's "Jessie" or "Jess," to Jasmine's "Minnie," or "Jessa," or "Mina." The jasmine plant, which is highly prized, has a remarkably nice fragrance and cute star-shaped flowers.

In 2011 there were only 8 girls named Jessamine, 7 named Jessamyn, and none named Jessamy. In 2010 there were only 6 girls named Jessamine. Fast forward to 2017 and Jessamine was used 14 times, Jessamyn 10 times, and all the other options were ignored. Jesmond, Jessimond, Jacamine, Ghismonda and Jessamie have never been used. Please, someone, snatch this up and use it!!
Labels:

Comments

  1. Waltzing More Than MatildaDecember 17, 2012 at 4:56 PM

    Gorgeous name, although my favourite is Jessamy.

    I can't believe this name isn't used more often, especially considering the fame of Jessamyn West the writer, whose short stories are nearly always included in those "100 Great Stories" type compilations. In fact, I think that's where I first saw the name and just loved it (aged around 8 or so).

    ReplyDelete
  2. CristinaDecember 17, 2012 at 10:22 PM

    Jessamine, Jessamyn and Jessamy do sound like names a little girl would just LOVE to have, but it's also very classy, and I think it would age very well.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousMay 18, 2013 at 11:52 PM

    My daughter, who is 4, is named Jessamy. I still absolutely love it. Quirky, but not outrageous, and sweet, just like her!

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousFebruary 4, 2014 at 3:19 AM

    FYI The lead character in New Girl is Jessica. One of the characters in the HBO series Girls is named Jessamine (nicknamed Jessa)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Galician Baby Names

I grew up on a street that was named an Italian variant of Roger. When I got married and we bought our first house, it turned out to be on Roger Street. Once noting that coincidence, I started searching for other variants of the name. However, female variants turned out to be pretty nonexistent. Save for Roxeria, which I later discovered was the Galician female form, possibly pronounced rohz-AIR-ee-uh. That led me to a few lists of female Galician names, ranging from common to rare. Here is a sampling of names not often heard here in the states... Albina Alda Alma Alodia Aloia Amada Amadora Amalia Amparo Anisia Antia Araceli Aranzazu Artemisa Avelina Azucena Baia Balbina Baltasara Beatriz Benvida Berenice Bieita Branca Braulia Caetana Carola Casilda Casimira Ceferina Celsa Cipriana Cira Clorinda Coralia Cornelia Cosima Davinia Delfina Desideria Dionisia Dominga Dorinda Dorotea Dositea Edelmira Edenia Elba Elvira Emiliana Etelvina ...
2 comments
Read more

Witchy Baby Girl Names!

Circe Invidiosa by John William Waterhouse Have a little girl due in October? Looking to name a character? Here's my [seemingly endless] list of witchy-sounding baby names. Most of them also fit in the "clunky but cool" category, or "vintage." Most plants, trees, herbs, spices, flowers, gems, space and nature names fit the bill, because in stories and current practice these things are useful to witches. I've put any actual witch names from legend, myth, literature, movies, etc in bold and up front. I have not considered the names of actual, living people or their Pagan names, and I've left out any characters that only have a surname, or truly ridiculous given names. In the second half you'll see a list of names that, to my knowledge, have not been used for witch characters. Please know that this is not a complete list. Wikipedia has an almost complete list you can view  here . Tabitha, Samantha, Endora, Clara, Serena  (Bewitched) Katrina...
25 comments
Read more

Ancient Germanic Female Deities

Loki and Idun by John Bauer Here is a list of ancient Germanic goddess and personifications. There is some overlap with the goddesses of the Norse pantheon, and I've limited it to those names that I think would wear well today on modern babies. Of the following names, only the following were used in 2016. Sol was given to 91 girls, Ran to 5 girls, Saga to 9 girls, and Beyla to 6 girls. Beyla - as a possible agricultural personification, her name could mean "cow," "bean," or "bee," but she has been associated with bees and mead, so my guess is "bee." However, there's been a proposed connection to the reconstructed Proto-Norse name Baunila, which means "little bean." This is also a Spanish and Italian girls name. Fulla - possibly means "bountiful." Her other name is Volla, which I think is equally accessible as a name. She is a virgin goddess in Old Norse mythology. Gersemi - means "treasure." Sh...
Post a Comment
Read more