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Jennifer

girl name
Origin
Welsh
Syllables
3
Peak era
1980s
Today
▼ Cooling

Torn between Jennifer and another name? Compare them side by side →

Meaning

white wave, fair one

Goes by Jen, Jenna, Jenny. See all nicknames

The story

Jennifer began as the Cornish form of Gwenhwyfar, the Welsh name the world knows as Guinevere, King Arthur's queen. For centuries it barely left Cornwall, until George Bernard Shaw gave it to a character in his 1906 play The Doctor's Dilemma and a wider public noticed. In America it grew slowly from the late 1930s, jumped in 1944, the year Jennifer Jones won her Oscar, and was already accelerating when Love Story reached theaters in 1970 with Ali MacGraw as Jenny. That same year Jennifer took the number one spot and did not let go for fifteen years, the most popular girls' name in the country from 1970 through 1984. Guinevere's name waited centuries for a crown of its own; when it finally came, it was American.

More names with stories →

How popular is Jennifer around the world?

In the United States, 3,624 babies were named Jennifer between 2020 and 2025. In Montevideo, 13 girls named Jennifer were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.

Jennifer is on the official records of the United States, Montevideo, Spain, Mexico City, Brazil, Scotland, Ireland, Chile, Canada, South Australia, England and Wales, Argentina, Austria, Poland and France.

United States

1 in 6,000

In the United States, 3,624 babies were named Jennifer between 2020 and 2025.

1890speak 1980s2020s

Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Jennifer peaked in the 1980s. Jennifer went to 1,286 US babies in 2015 and 501 in 2025, 39% of the earlier figure.

Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration

See the full list for the United States →

Montevideo City

1 in 1,900 · 2011

In Montevideo, 13 girls named Jennifer were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.

1940peak 19922011

share of that year’s births on record

Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial

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Spain

1 in 2,200

In Spain, 20,371 residents are named Jennifer, the 190th most common name among women, with a mean age of 32.8 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

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Mexico City City

1 in 4,700

In Mexico City, there were 25 registrations of Jennifer in 2022.

peak 20012022

share of that year’s registrations in the city

Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023

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Brazil

1 in 5,100

At the 2022 census, 39,762 people in Brazil were named Jennifer, the 670th most common name, with a median age of 20.
Among people named Jennifer living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2000s than in any other decade.

1960speak 2000s

people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth

The census also counted 842 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. 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

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Scotland

1 in 5,700

In Scotland, 8 girls named Jennifer were registered in 2024, the 384th most common name among girls that year.

peak 19842024

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

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Ireland

1 in 6,000

In Ireland, 9 girls named Jennifer were born in 2025, the 413th most common name among girls that year.

1964peak 19842025

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

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Chile

1 in 8,100

In Chile, 22 girls were registered as Jennifer in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.

1920peak 19842021

share of that year’s name registrations

First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021

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Canada

1 in 9,100

In Canada, 40 girls named Jennifer were born in 2024, the 726th most common name among girls that year.

peak 19912024

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)

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South Australia

1 in 9,200 · 2017

In South Australia, 2 girls were registered as Jennifer in 2017.

peak 19562017

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

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England and Wales

1 in 9,900

In England and Wales, 59 girls named Jennifer were born in 2025, the 650th most common name among girls that year.

peak 19962025

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

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Argentina

1 in 19,000

In Argentina, 35 newborns were given the name Jennifer in 2024.

peak 20122024

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

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Austria

1 in 38,000

In Austria, 2 girls named Jennifer were born in 2025, ranked 1,305th among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.

peak 19932025

share of that year’s births on record

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)

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Poland

1 in 62,000

In Poland, 4 girls named Jennifer were born in 2025, the 498th most common name among girls that year.

peak 20012025

share of that year’s name registrations

First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)

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France

1 in 64,000

In France, about 10 girls named Jennifer were born in 2025, ranked 3,275th among girls that year.

1950peak 19852025

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)

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New South Wales

outside the top 100

Jennifer is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.

peak 19562025

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

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New Zealand

last on record 2024

Jennifer is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.

peak 19512025

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

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Norway

last on record 2020

Jennifer is not on the 2025 record for Norway, where names carried by fewer than 4 people in a year are withheld at source.

1945peak 20002025

share of the girls on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure

People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)

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Puerto Rico

last on record 2010

Jennifer is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 440 babies have carried the name there since 1998.

peak 19992025

share of that year’s births on record

First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)

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All records: the most popular baby names around the world →

When you meet Jennifer

Most people given the name Jennifer in the United States were born between 1970 and 1989. The Jennifer you meet today is most often in her 40s or 50s.

Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.

Names that fit alongside Jennifer

Megan Sabrina Kelly Lynnette Bronwyn Gwyneth

Where Jennifer travels

Filipino American · fair one, white wave; a common English pick for Filipino American daughters

Chinese American · fair one, white wave; ubiquitous among 1970s-80s ABC girls

Keep exploring

Nicknames for Jennifer · English-Brazilian names · Filipino American baby names · Chinese American baby names · Climbers and fallers

Name trails: explore connections from Jennifer →

The Jennifer deep dive

Written for you · $1.99 →

Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Jennifer 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 Jennifer fits with your family’s names and surname.

Both reports, explained →

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