Nameling

Jennifer

Gender
Girl
Say it
JEN-i-fer
Origin
Cornish
UK rank, 2025
#681 for girls
US rank, 2025
#586 for girls

Timeless

Jennifer is a girls' name of Cornish origin, meaning “fair, white”. In 2025 it ranked 681st for girls in the UK (59 babies) and 586th for girls in the US (501 babies).

What does Jennifer mean?

Cornish: Cornish form of Guinevere (Welsh Gwenhwyfar)

“fair, white”

The Cornish form of Guinevere, King Arthur's queen; it spread beyond Cornwall in the early 20th century.

More on Wiktionary.

Is Jennifer a girl's or a boy's name?

Jennifer is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 59 girls in the UK and 501 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.

How popular is Jennifer in the UK?

Rank in 2025
#681among girls
Babies in 2025
59about 1 in 4,700 girls
Five-year trend
Fallingdown 46% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1%chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 59 girls in the UK were named Jennifer, making it the 681st most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 439th. Its busiest year was 1996, with 1,429 girls.

2025 had the fewest girls named Jennifer since the records began in 1996.

Half of all the girls named Jennifer in the UK since 1996 were born between 1998 and 2008. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier girls aren't counted.

Among girls in 2025, it was 650th in England and Wales.

In the England and Wales top 100 for girls, which the ONS has published every ten years since 1904: 1934 (#87), 1944 (#18), 1954 (#23), 1964 (#45), 1974 (#34), 1984 (#11), 1994 (#42) and 2004 (#87).

1996Busiest: 1,429 in 19962025
Jennifer in the UK, year by year
YearGirlsRank
202559#681
202491#492
202374#562
202299#468
202197#483
2020105#439
2019138#355
2018173#308
2017211#262
2016228#250
2015265#223
2014264#223
2013255#219
2012289#199
2011349#171
2010369#161
2009376#162
2008444#135
2007482#130
2006505#118
2005579#99
2004711#80
2003817#72
2002908#65
2001791#74
2000850#64
1999929#64
19981,100#59
19971,259#52
19961,429#48

How popular is Jennifer in the US?

Rank in 2025
#586among girls
Babies in 2025
501about 1 in 3,200 girls
Five-year trend
Fallingdown 32% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1%chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 501 girls in the US were named Jennifer, making it the 586th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 431st. Its busiest year was 1972, with 63,600 girls. It first appears in the records in 1919.

It has been given to fewer girls each year for the last 28 years. 2025 had fewer girls named Jennifer than any year since 1943.

Half of all the girls named Jennifer in the US since 1880 were born between 1972 and 1985, the years shaded on the chart below.

In 2025, 522 girls in the US were given Jennifer or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #571, up from #586 for this spelling alone.

1919Busiest: 63,600 in 19722025
Jennifer in the US, year by year
YearGirlsRank
2025501#586
2024556#544
2023586#520
2022630#501
2021638#493
2020713#431
2019788#390
2018921#344
20171,052#309
20161,162#272
20151,286#251
20141,521#222
20131,692#192
20121,928#164
20112,281#134
20102,622#121
20092,987#110
20083,797#84
20074,653#64
20065,268#51
20055,837#42
20046,545#39
20037,569#31
20028,540#28
20018,923#26
20009,390#26
199910,616#21
199810,692#20
199711,840#18
199611,732#19
199512,683#18
199414,001#17
199315,749#15
199217,819#11
199120,673#8
199022,236#8
198924,006#7
198827,893#5
198732,710#4
198636,187#4
198542,661#3
198450,564#1
198354,353#1
198257,120#1
198157,046#1
198058,374#1
197956,712#1
197856,314#1
197758,964#1
197659,473#1
197558,190#1
197463,107#1
197362,448#1
197263,600#1
197156,771#1
197046,150#1
196933,705#3
196826,853#4
196718,236#10
196618,215#10
196515,207#20
196412,955#31
196311,757#36
196210,977#41
19619,265#47
19607,243#61
19596,233#77
19585,882#81
19575,483#87
19564,711#97
19554,123#104
19543,966#108
19533,375#115
19523,527#107
19512,973#119
19502,802#118
19492,618#121
19481,882#151
19472,010#145
19461,733#156
1945985#199
1944684#263
1943337#397
1942198#527
1941136#604
1940102#686
193962#891
193851#992
193738#1,160
193642#1,081
193536#1,182
193441#1,098
193330#1,311
193225#1,520
193126#1,458
193017#2,022
192917#2,010
19287#3,741
19275#4,803
19269#3,268
19259#3,361
192411#2,972
19239#3,349
19227#4,009
19215#5,097
19207#3,955
19196#4,249

Nicknames for Jennifer

Names like Jennifer

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Jessica Amber Heather Jasmine Holly Francesca Emily Joanna Abigail Melissa Alexandra Molly

Other spellings of Jennifer

Jenifer Jennyfer

Names related to Jennifer

Jeniffer Jenniffer Jennafer Jennefer Jennipher Jenyfer

More Cornish names

Elowyn Lowen Elowen Jenna Denzel Merryn Lowenna Sennen Elowynn Morwenna Demelza Jennah Senara Merrin Jena Zennor

Every Cornish name

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.

To cite this page: Nameling, “Jennifer: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/jennifer, updated 20 October 2026.