Genesis
Meaning
"origin, beginning," the Greek word that titles the first book of the Bible; taken up by American families, especially Latino and Black families, in the 1990s as a name of faith and fresh starts. Grand meaning, modern sound
The story
Genesis is the Greek word for origin, for beginning, and for most of its life it was not a personal name at all: it was the title of the Bible's first book, the one that opens with light being called out of darkness. Turning it into a given name is a recent and mostly American act of imagination. The name scarcely appears in US records before the 1980s, then rose quickly, embraced especially warmly in Black American families, where names that speak of faith and fresh starts have a long and proud tradition. By the 2000s it was a mainstream choice, and it has held its strength through the 2010s and into this decade. It is given to daughters far more often than sons, and it means exactly what it says: a beginning, spoken aloud every day.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Genesis peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
3,167 people · the #3,745 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 62,500 · median age 27
Among people named Genesis living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 105 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Genesis
Most people given the name Genesis in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Genesis deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Genesis truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Genesis fits with your family’s names and surname.
Keep exploring
Names like Genesis · Middle names for Genesis · African American baby names
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