Genesis
A feminine name of Greek origins meaning "origin" or "beginning".
Name Census estimates that about 92,434 living Americans carry the first name Genesis. It sits at #55 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. It is a predominantly female name (96.2% of registrations). The average person named Genesis today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Genesis births was 2016 (4,450 babies). In terms of living bearers, it sits close to Natasha (92,289).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Genesis. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Genesis with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Genesis is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 3,513 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • Genesis is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 14 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
92K
~ 1 in 3,708 Americans
Peak year
2016
4,450 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#55
Tracked since 1964
Census
Genesis in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 62,797 people with the first name Genesis, which placed it at #784 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#784
National first-name rank
People counted
63K
62,797 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
20.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
80.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Genesis
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Genesis is Hispanic at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Black (11.0%) and White (5.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Genesis described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Genesis at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino80.2% · 50,377
- Black or African American11.0% · 6,904
- White5.4% · 3,369
- Two or more races1.8% · 1,134
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 816
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 197
Gender
Gender distribution for Genesis
Genesis leans heavily female at 96.2% of total registrations, but 3,513 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Genesis as a male name
- Ranked #1,149 in 2024
- 182 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2020 (278 births)
Genesis as a female name
- Ranked #55 in 2024
- 3,835 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2016 (4,351 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Genesis leans strongly female. 60,592 people counted with this name were female (96.5%), compared with 2,203 male bearers (3.5%).
Popularity
Genesis: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Genesis from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 41,642 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Genesis remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Genesis by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Genesis during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Genesis' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 47 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Genesis, while Wyoming, New Hampshire, Montana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 1,929 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Genesis
The name Genesis originates from the Greek word 'genesis', which translates to 'origin' or 'beginning'. It is derived from the Greek verb 'genesthai', meaning 'to be born or come into existence'. The name gained significance in the Judeo-Christian tradition as the title of the first book of the Old Testament, which narrates the creation of the world and the origin of human life.
In the Hebrew Bible, the Book of Genesis lays out the foundation for the entire Biblical narrative, encompassing stories like the creation of the world, the Garden of Eden, and the lives of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The name Genesis became associated with the concepts of birth, creation, and new beginnings.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Genesis can be found in the works of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato, who used the term 'genesis' to refer to the process of coming into being or the origin of something. However, the name Genesis itself was not commonly used as a personal name until much later.
In the 16th century, during the Protestant Reformation, the name Genesis began to gain popularity among English Puritans who drew inspiration from the Bible for naming their children. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Genesis as a given name was in 1558, when an English Puritan named their daughter Genesis.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Genesis:
1. Genesis P-Orridge (1950-2020), an English singer-songwriter, musician, and visual artist, known for their work in the industrial and avant-garde music genres.
2. Genesis Almelor (born 1996), a Filipino-American singer and actress who rose to fame as a contestant on the reality show "The X Factor USA" in 2012.
3. Genesis Rodriguez (born 1987), an American actress known for her roles in movies like "Man on a Ledge", "Tusk", and the television series "Time After Time".
4. Genesis Villella (born 1995), an American gymnast who competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
5. Genesis Servania (born 1991), a Filipino professional boxer who has held multiple lightweight titles.
The name Genesis has transcended its biblical origins and has gained popularity across various cultures and religions, symbolizing new beginnings, creation, and the potential for growth and transformation.
People
Genesis + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Genesis as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Genesis: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Genesis?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 92,434 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Genesis going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 3,708 US residents.
Is Genesis a common name?
We classify Genesis as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 93,541 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Genesis most popular?
The single biggest year for Genesis was 2016, when 4,450 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Genesis is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Genesis in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 62,797 people with the name Genesis, or 20.79 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #784 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Genesis in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Genesis?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Genesis leans strongly female. 60,592 people counted with this name were female (96.5%), compared with 2,203 male bearers (3.5%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Genesis?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Genesis is Hispanic at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Black (11.0%) and White (5.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Genesis most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Genesis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.2% (50,377 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Genesis in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Genesis a female name?
Yes, 96.2% of people registered as Genesis in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Genesis still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Genesis in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Genesis can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Genesis as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.