Genevieve
The story
Genevieve is the patron saint of Paris made into a given name. Tradition holds that when Attila's army turned toward the city in the fifth century, Genevieve rallied Parisians to prayer rather than flight, and the city stood; she has watched over it since. The traditional reading of the name is tribe woman, from old Germanic roots, though the etymology is contested ground. Her American record is a genuine arc: nearly 23,000 girls in the 1910s and almost 25,000 in the 1920s, a slow slide to about 2,500 in the 1960s, then a patient rebuild to 15,600 in the 2010s, with 10,900 so far this decade. About 124,000 girls carry it in our records. Gen, Evie and Vivi do the everyday work, as our nickname records note. Few names offer this combination: sainthood, a siege, three ready nicknames, and a comeback measured in decades.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Genevieve peaked in the 2020s.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
109 people · the #38,860 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 1,000,000 · median age 40
Among people named Genevieve living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1980s than in any other decade.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Genevieve
Most people given the name Genevieve in the United States are teenagers or young adults today.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Genevieve deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Genevieve 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 Genevieve fits with your family’s names and surname.
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