Jessie is a diminutive of Jessica. Jessica originates in Hebrew language and means "one who can foresee". It was mentioned the very first time in Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice. He probably derived it from an old Hebrew name Iskah, shortly mentioned in the Bible. Since the 20th century, Jessica has been one of the most popular feminine given names in the United States. As a masculine given name, Jessie is a variant of Jesse.