Jenna
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Meaning
variant of Jenny, a familiar form used for names including Jennifer and Jane
The story
Jenna is a variant of Jenny, a familiar form that has served names including Jennifer and Jane. It became especially visible in the 1980s through Jenna Wade on the television series Dallas. The timing matters because the US curve was already present earlier, then rises sharply in the 1980s, climbs again in the 1990s, reaches its unmistakable high point in the 2000s, and falls through the 2010s and 2020s. A television character can help explain familiarity, but the record still shows a full generational wave rather than a single instant. Jenna also illustrates how a nickname-style form can become fully independent: many people named Jenna were never formally Jennifer, Jean, or Jane. The result is compact and modern in feel, yet attached to one of English naming's oldest habits, making affectionate forms into birth-certificate names.
The formal names behind Jenna
Jenna is an established short form of this name.
Jennifer · Welsh origin · white wave, fair one
How popular is Jenna around the world?
In the United States, 2,832 babies were named Jenna between 2020 and 2025. In France, about 295 girls named Jenna were born in 2025, the 198th most common name among girls that year.
Jenna is on the official records of the United States, France, Canada, South Australia, Scotland, Ireland, England and Wales, Austria, Argentina, Spain and Brazil.
United States
1 in 7,700
In the United States, 2,832 babies were named Jenna between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Jenna peaked in the 2000s. Jenna went to 1,089 US babies in 2015 and 418 in 2025, 38% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
France
1 in 2,200
In France, about 295 girls named Jenna were born in 2025, the 198th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Canada
1 in 6,100
In Canada, 60 girls named Jenna were born in 2024, the 488th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
South Australia
1 in 9,2002017
In South Australia, 2 girls were registered as Jenna in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Scotland
1 in 11,000
In Scotland, 4 girls named Jenna were registered in 2024, the 638th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Ireland
1 in 18,000
In Ireland, 3 girls named Jenna were born in 2025, the 885th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
England and Wales
1 in 20,000
In England and Wales, 29 girls named Jenna were born in 2025, ranked 1,133rd among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Austria
1 in 76,000
In Austria, 1 girl named Jenna was born in 2025, ranked 1,875th among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Argentina
1 in 130,000
In Argentina, 5 newborns were given the name Jenna in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Spain
1 in 1.2M
In Spain, 38 residents are named Jenna, ranked 17,869th among women, with a mean age of 30.4 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 33 people in Brazil were named Jenna, ranked 88,550th, with a median age of 14.
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
New South Wales
outside the top 100
Jenna is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
New Zealand
last on record 2013
Jenna is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Not on the record in Mexico City, Puerto Rico and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Jenna
Most people given the name Jenna in the United States were born between 1980 and 2009. The Jenna you meet today is most often in her 20s or 30s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Jenna deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Jenna 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 Jenna fits with your family’s names and surname.
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