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Bad news has been issued to anyone called Jessica
Daily mirror | January 26, 2026 10:39 PM CST

All millennials went to school with at least three Jessicas in their class. It's a nice name, and it's clear to see why many parents chose it for their bundles of joy.

The name translates to 'God beholds,' 'to see,' 'foresight,' or 'wealthy'. It implies a sense of divine watchfulness, which is comforting. But there's bad news for Jessicas around the world now – as it's been chosen to represent a certain type of person.

That's right, Jessica is to Gen Zs what Karen is to millennials. Karen is usually a person who complains in a fast-food restaurant, demanding to see the manager over the slightest inconvenience.

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A Karen will kick off at the tiniest thing – and may even call the police if a vague altercation happens when she's in the vicinity. It doesn't even matter if she's the one who started it!

The previously unremarkable name, seemingly overnight, took on a whole new meaning, leaving actual people named Karen everywhere gutted.

Much to the dismay of those called Karen, they are known to have a unique haircut, often a choppy bob with unnatural chunky highlights and a longer face-framing fringe.

Gen Z randomly got talking about what the millennial equivalent of a Karen is - and the jury has decided that it's a Jessica.

In a 2024 Instagram video, @wouldyoukindly suggested that the next 'Karen' could be Jennifer or Lisa, but then she said that Jen sounds "too nice," whereas "Jessica will mess you up".

She said: "Jess is gonna fight somebody if she gets angry, so I feel like it's gonna be Jessica. I just feel it. I'm sorry Jessicas out there, but the next Karen's gonna be Jessica".

Jessicas, much like their predecessors, Karens, apparently have a set of characteristics that people should look for when looking to refer to someone as 'such a Jessica'.

Newsweek spoke to Alexander Cromer, a licensed professional counsellor with Thriveworks, who said that Jessicas are "millennial women who demonstrate characteristics such as being demanding, tone-deaf, and aggressive and overall demonstrate a difficulty in likability".

TikToker @jessblanc87, who is named Jessica, joked that she "didn't know whether to be flattered about this, or offended".

She said: "Also, like, who was in charge of this voting system? I get it's a popular name, but I feel like Ashley is a contender". Jess said that she found it "hilarious," ending her video by saying, "Go Jessica!"

However, @jessrunas was not as calm about the news, captioning her video: "I am not a Karen! I am not that Jessica. I am just a Jessica, fueled by iced coffee and generational trauma!"

Jess Runas said that she doesn't have a Karen haircut, she doesn't want to speak to the manager, she wouldn't call the cops on loud noises and just wants everyone to have fun.

She also said she doesn't judge other people's parenting, as she has "iPad kids," and she cries when she confronts someone. Jess ended the video by saying: "Please be nice to me".

So, what do you think about Jessica being the new Karen? Let us know in the comments...


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