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Josephine vs Jessica - What's the difference?

josephine | jessica |

As proper nouns the difference between josephine and jessica

is that josephine is a female given name, the feminine form of joseph while jessica is ; formerly rare, but since the 1970s popular in all english-speaking countries.

josephine

English

Proper noun

(en proper noun)
  • * 1868 Louisa May Alcott: Little Women . Chapter 3:
    • "I hate my name, too, so sentimental! I wish every one would say Jo instead of Josephine . How did you make the boys stop calling you Dora?”
  • * 1998 , A Place Like This , Univ. of Queensland Press, ISBN 0702229849, page 86:
    • I'm going to call him Joseph / or Josephine if it's a girl. / Why? / Because it's a strong name, / Joe, Joseph.

    jessica

    English

    Proper noun

    (en proper noun)
  • ; formerly rare, but since the 1970s popular in all English-speaking countries .
  • * 1594 William Shakespeare: The Merchant of Venice: Act V: Scene I:
    • Lorenzo : In such a night / Did Jessica steal from the wealthy Jew, / And with an unthrift love did run from Venice, / As far as Belmont.
    Jessica : In such a night / Did young Lorenzo swear he lov'd her well, / Stealing her soul with many vows of faith, / And ne'er a true one.
    Lorenzo : In such a night / Did pretty Jessica , like a little shrew, / Slander her love, and he forgave it her.
  • * 1996 , The Writer's Child , The Sandman Book of Dreams, HarperCollins, ISBN 0002246325, page 154:
    • She will be beautiful, of course - how could our child not be beautiful? We will name her...Jessica . Yes, that's a good name, not one of those lighter-than-air names so popular among writers of romances and fairy tales. That's a name a real little girl might have.

    Related terms

    * (diminutives) Jess, Jessie Jes .