Genise
Feminine variant of genesis meaning "origin" or "beginning" in Greek.
Name Census estimates that about 791 living Americans carry the first name Genise. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Genise today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Genise births was 1960 (39 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Genise. 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.
People living today
791
~ 1 in 433,318 Americans
Peak year
1960
39 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
2009 SSA rank
#18,249
Tracked since 1946
Census
Genise in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 860 people with the first name Genise, which placed it at #13,890 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
#13,890
National first-name rank
People counted
860
860 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
56.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Genise
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Genise is Black at 56.9%. The next largest groups are White (28.3%) and Hispanic (10.5%). 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 Genise 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 Genise at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American56.9% · 489
- White28.3% · 243
- Hispanic or Latino10.5% · 90
- Two or more races2.9% · 25
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 2
Popularity
Genise: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Genise from the 1940s through to the 2000s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 263 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Genise 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 Genise during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Genises live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. New York, California, Georgia recorded the most babies named Genise, while Michigan, Texas, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 11 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Genise
The given name Genise is a relatively uncommon one, with its origins shrouded in mystery and speculation. Some believe it to be derived from the Old French word "geneisse," meaning "young cow" or "heifer." This would suggest that the name may have its roots in rural, pastoral societies where cattle played a significant role in daily life.
Another theory traces the name's origins to the Greek word "genesis," which means "creation" or "origin." This connection could imply a deeper, more philosophical meaning associated with the name, perhaps symbolizing new beginnings or a fresh start.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Genise can be found in the writings of the 12th-century French philosopher and theologian, Peter Abelard. He mentioned a woman named Genise in one of his letters, but little is known about her beyond that reference.
In the 16th century, a French noblewoman named Genise de Valois was noted for her patronage of the arts and her support for Renaissance artists and scholars. She was born in 1520 and lived until 1588, leaving a lasting legacy in the cultural circles of her time.
A century later, in 1673, a woman named Genise Bailly was recorded as one of the first settlers in the French colony of Quebec, Canada. She and her husband, Pierre Bailly, were among the pioneering families who helped establish the new settlement.
In the realm of literature, the name Genise appears briefly in the works of the 19th-century French novelist Honoré de Balzac. One of his minor characters, a young woman, bears this name, although her role in the narrative is relatively insignificant.
Lastly, in the early 20th century, a French artist named Genise Bourdon gained recognition for her vibrant, Impressionist-style paintings of rural landscapes and village scenes. She was born in 1887 and lived until 1963, leaving behind a notable body of work that captured the essence of the French countryside.
While the name Genise may not be as widely recognized as some others, its unique history and varied interpretations make it a fascinating subject of study for those interested in the origins and meanings of given names.
People
Genise + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Genise 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
Genise: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Genise?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 791 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Genise 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 433,318 US residents.
Is Genise a common name?
We classify Genise as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 922 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Genise most popular?
The single biggest year for Genise was 1960, when 39 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Genise is about 52 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Genise in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 860 people with the name Genise, or 0.28 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,890 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 Genise 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 Genise?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Genise appears almost entirely female. Of the 858 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Genise?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Genise is Black at 56.9%. The next largest groups are White (28.3%) and Hispanic (10.5%). 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 Genise most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Genise in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.9% (489 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 Genise in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Genise a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Genise 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 Genise still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Genise 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 Genise 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 the name Genise?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Genise on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.