Ginnifer
A feminine name variant of Jennifer, also derived from Guinevere.
Name Census estimates that about 74 living Americans carry the first name Ginnifer. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ginnifer today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ginnifer births was 1972 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ginnifer. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ginnifer. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
74
~ 1 in 4,631,815 Americans
Peak year
1972
8 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
2017 SSA rank
#16,723
Tracked since 1972
Census
Ginnifer in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 135 people with the first name Ginnifer, which placed it at #47,903 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
#47,903
National first-name rank
People counted
135
135 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
77.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ginnifer
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ginnifer is White at 77.0%. The next largest groups are Black (8.9%) and Two or More Races (8.1%). 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 Ginnifer 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 Ginnifer at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.0% · 104
- Black or African American8.9% · 12
- Two or more races8.1% · 11
- Hispanic or Latino5.2% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 1
Popularity
Ginnifer: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ginnifer from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 44 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ginnifer 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 Ginnifer during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ginnifer
The given name Ginnifer is an English variant of the name Jennifer, which has its origins in the Welsh name Gwenhwyfar. Gwenhwyfar is a compound name derived from the Welsh words "gwen" meaning fair or white, and "hwyfar" meaning smooth or soft. Together, the name is believed to mean "the fair and smooth one" or "the white phantom."
The name Gwenhwyfar was popularized in the medieval legends of King Arthur, where it was the name of Arthur's wife and queen. One of the earliest recorded instances of this name appears in the 9th century Welsh tale "Culhwch and Olwen," where Gwenhwyfar is mentioned as one of Arthur's wives. The name also appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 12th century work "Historia Regum Britanniae" and in the later Arthurian romances of Chrétien de Troyes and Thomas Malory.
The English variant Jennifer emerged in the 16th century, with the earliest recorded instance being Jennifer Wriothesley, born in 1536. This name became more widely used in English-speaking countries after the publication of George Eliot's novel "The Fortunes of Gwendolen Harleth" in 1876, which featured a character named Gwendolen.
The variant spelling Ginnifer is a modern adaptation that gained popularity in the late 20th century. Some notable people with the name Ginnifer include:
1. Ginnifer Goodwin (born 1978), American actress known for her roles in the TV series "Once Upon a Time" and "Big Love."
2. Ginnifer Choldenko (born 1957), American children's book author, best known for her award-winning novel "Al Capone Does My Shirts."
3. Ginnifer Flowers (born 1977), American model and actress who appeared in several films and TV shows in the 1990s and 2000s.
4. Ginnifer Mendoza (born 1980), American actress and singer, known for her roles in the TV series "Resurrection Boulevard" and "The Division."
5. Ginnifer Franklin (born 1971), American track and field athlete who competed in the high jump and won a gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
While these are some notable examples, the name Ginnifer remains relatively uncommon, particularly in comparison to its root name Jennifer. Its unique spelling and connection to the Arthurian legends have contributed to its enduring appeal as a distinctive and meaningful given name.
People
Ginnifer + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ginnifer 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
Ginnifer: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ginnifer?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 74 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ginnifer 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 4,631,815 US residents.
Is Ginnifer a common name?
We classify Ginnifer as "Very Rare". It ranks above 60.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 80 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ginnifer most popular?
The single biggest year for Ginnifer was 1972, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ginnifer is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ginnifer in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 135 people with the name Ginnifer, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #47,903 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 Ginnifer 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 Ginnifer?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ginnifer leans strongly female. 134 people counted with this name were female (97.8%), compared with 3 male bearers (2.2%). 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 Ginnifer?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ginnifer is White at 77.0%. The next largest groups are Black (8.9%) and Two or More Races (8.1%). 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 Ginnifer most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Ginnifer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.0% (104 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 Ginnifer in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ginnifer a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ginnifer 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 Ginnifer still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ginnifer 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 Ginnifer 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 Ginnifer?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.