Given name & surname · also Celtic
Jennifer
“one who is fair; a beautiful girl”
Jennifer is used as a given name and a surname. One Welsh interpretation is “one who is fair; a beautiful girl.”
Original WelshGwenhwyfar
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Welsh interpretation is “one who is fair; a beautiful girl.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Celtic.
How it developed
From Cornish Gweniver, from Middle Cornish Gwynnever, from Proto-Brythonic *Gwɨnnohuɨβar.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1919. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Jennifer through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,476,540
- 4,837 boys · 1,471,703 girls
- Most popular year
- 1972
- 63,790 babies
- 2025
- 501
- #586 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −37%
- Cooling
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 501 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 586 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 37.2% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 63,600 in 1972. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (75). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,331,077 as a first name in 2020; 400 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Jennifer’s family of names
In French usage, Jennifer has a diminutive in Jane. In English usage, Jennifer shares an earlier linguistic root with Guinevere. Jennifer has a related form in Jenna.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Jennifer has relatives in 17 languages. Lines run from its Proto-Celtic roots to each of them.
39 related names in 17 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 61
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Janediminutive · French
- Jennadiminutive · English
- Jennydiminutive · English, German
- Jennievariant
- Jenifervariant · Portuguese, ceb
- Jenaevariant
- Jennidiminutive · English, German
- Jenayavariant
Show 52 moreShow fewer
- Jenaivariant
- Jennicavariant
- Jenisevariant
- Jennikavariant
- Jenikavariant
- Jenicavariant
- Jennniferlikely variant
- Jenniferrlikely variant
- Gennifervariant · French
- Genifervariant · French
- Jeniphervariant · French, ceb
- Ginnifervariant · English, French
- Jendiminutive · English, German
- Jenefervariant · English
- Jenafervariant · English
- Jenndiminutive · English
- Jennellevariant
- Jenibellevariant
- Jenaravariant
- Jenalynvariant
- Jenayvariant
- Jinnyvariant
- Jinnivariant
- Jennyleevariant
- Jennisvariant
- Jennilynvariant
- Jennileevariant
- Jennessavariant
- Jenitavariant
- Jenicevariant
- Jenivariant
- Jenettavariant
- Jenenevariant
- Jeneenvariant
- Jenalynnvariant
- Jenaleevariant
- Jennivervariant
- Jenneevariant
- Jeniffervariant
- Jenniffervariant · German
- Gennyfervariant · French
- Djennifervariant · French
- Djenifervariant · French
- Genifèrevariant · French
- Jennifèrevariant · French
- Jenifèrevariant · French
- Jingjingdiminutive · ceb
- Jinjindiminutive · ceb
- Jenjendiminutive · ceb
- Jennyannvariant
- Jennitavariant
- Jeriecevariant
And 1 more.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 19
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 2
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Jennifer
- Jennifer LopezAmerican singer and actress (born 1969)
- Jennifer AnistonAmerican actress (born 1969)
- Jennifer LawrenceAmerican actress and producer (born 1990)
- Jennifer ConnellyAmerican actress (born 1970)
- Jennifer GarnerAmerican actress (born 1972)
- Jennifer DoudnaAmerican biochemistborn 1964
- Jennifer Love HewittAmerican actress and singerborn 1979
- Jennifer HudsonAmerican singer, actress, model and spokespersonborn 1981
- Jennifer MorrisonAmerican actressborn 1979
Characters named Jennifer: Jennifer Melfi (The Sopranos), Jennifer Keller (Stargate), Jenny Humphrey (fictional character), Jenny Schecter (the television series The L Word).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Jennifer, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Veronica
“displaying her true image”
>99% girls
Nina
“a little girl” · “a fiery woman”
>99% girls
Carmen
“a beautiful song”
5% boys · 95% girls
Valerie
“strong and valiant”
>99% girls
Ann
“he (God) has favoured me (i.e. with a child)” · “a woman graced with God's favor”
>99% girls
Christine
“follower of Christ”
>99% girls
Emilie
“rival”
>99% girls
Rebecca
“enchantingly beautiful, captivating, snare”
>99% girls