My name has come far from its initial appearance in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice in 1956, which, according to Behind the Name, says likely came from the Bible’s Jescha (also once spelled Iscah), meaning to “behold” or “see” (“Iscah”). My mom always tells me she had her eyes set on Jessica for as long as she could remember. Perhaps the gift of “seeing” preceded me. 

Although it is an inheritance of dense history, it’s better framed as an inheritance of desire. My mom wished for me to embody the same success that any other American kid with their American name did. In her pursuit for a successful and bountiful life for her daughter, she endowed me with my first gift: my name. I joined the slew of cousins whose names were equally as commonplace as mine, our identities rolled off strangers’ tongues. But my name wasn’t like an old friend whom my grandma could greet affectionately or call with ease in Vietnamese, her native language. None of our names were. Instead our names served hindrances to my grandma who diligently cycled through our nine different names before calling us over. It was distinctly clear that the clunkiness of my name was incompatible with the beauty of her first language. 

For the longest time, the name Jessica wasn’t compatible with any world. Not with the Vietnamese home where my name was relegated to the sidelines in favor of my Vietnamese name, Vinh.  Neither with the American life where my name felt like it should’ve belonged to a girl who shouldn’t have looked like me. Yet, it’s been the journey of having my name mispronounced by relatives and having my name stuck to me in icebreakers that I’ve been able to create a Jessica that is purely my own. 

Although much of my inspiration comes from the women who carried this name before me, it was my initial dissonance which allowed me to achieve the observant and successful characteristics of what it means to be Jessica. Just as their names didn’t serve as particular fables, my name is a pillar upon which I’ve taken this opportunity to give it new meaning. To enrich it with my own bicultural experiences. 

Today, I step forward, assured of who I’ve been, who I am, and looking forward to seeing all that I will be. 

Works Cited

Au, Jessica. Café Photoshoot. 21 July 2024. Author’s Personal Collection. 

“Meaning of first name Jessica.” Ancestry, 2017, ancestry.com/first-name-meaning/jessica. Accessed 8 Feb. 2025. 

 “Iscah” Behind the Name, 2017, behindthename.com/name/iscah. Accessed 13 Feb. 2025.

“Jessica.” Behind the Name, 2017, behindthename.com/name/jessica. Accessed 13 Feb. 2025.