NameCensus.
Rare

Glennis

A feminine name of Gaelic origin meaning "valley" or "glen".

Name Census estimates that about 1,199 living Americans carry the first name Glennis. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 74.0% of registrations being female. The average person named Glennis today is around 69 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Glennis births was 1947 (80 babies).

This page is the full Name Census profile for Glennis. 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

  • The typical person named Glennis is about 69 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Glennis' were born before 1967.

People living today

1.2K

~ 1 in 285,867 Americans

Peak year

1947

80 babies that year

Average age

69

years old

1986 SSA rank

#7,109

Tracked since 1912

Gender

Gender distribution for Glennis

Glennis is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 2,777 total registrations, 721 (26.0%) were male and 2,056 (74.0%) were female.

26% male
74% female
Male721 (26.0%)Female2,056 (74.0%)

Glennis as a male name

  • Ranked #7,109 in 1986
  • 5 male births in 1986
  • Peak: 1956 (26 births)

Glennis as a female name

  • Ranked #12,631 in 1997
  • 6 female births in 1997
  • Peak: 1947 (62 births)

Popularity

Glennis: popularity over time

The SSA tracks Glennis from the 1910s through to the 1990s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 589 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1940s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.

Babies born per year

MaleFemale
02040608019201930194019501960197019801990

Decades

Glennis 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 Glennis during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.

DecadeMaleFemaleTotal
1910s31154185
1920s94357451
1930s140402542
1940s173416589
1950s152316468
1960s81228309
1970s3998137
1980s116778
1990s01818

Geography

Where Glennis' live

The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. Kentucky, Georgia, Maine recorded the most babies named Glennis, while Nebraska, Minnesota, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 27 registrations each.

Origin

Meaning and history of Glennis

The name Glennis is an English variant of the Scottish feminine name Glenn, which is derived from the Gaelic word "gleann," meaning "valley." It emerged as a popular name in the 19th century, particularly in Scotland and parts of northern England.

The earliest recorded use of the name Glennis can be traced back to the late 18th century, although it was relatively uncommon until the mid-19th century. One of the earliest known individuals with this name was Glennis MacKenzie, a Scottish poet born in 1787 in the Highlands region of Scotland.

In the early 20th century, the name Glennis gained some prominence in the United States, particularly among families with Scottish or Irish heritage. One notable bearer of this name was Glennis McCullough (1919-2001), an American actress and singer who appeared in several Broadway productions and Hollywood films during the 1940s and 1950s.

Another well-known individual with the name Glennis was Glennis Byron (1923-1985), a British artist and illustrator who was best known for her work on children's books and magazine covers. Her vibrant and whimsical illustrations captured the imagination of generations of young readers.

In the realm of sports, Glennis Yeamans (1942-2020) was a Canadian softball player who represented her country at multiple international tournaments, including the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, where she won a silver medal.

Another notable figure was Glennis Nagel (1925-2012), an American activist and advocate for women's rights. She played a pivotal role in the fight for gender equality and was a prominent figure in the feminist movement of the 1960s and 1970s.

While the name Glennis has declined in popularity in recent decades, it remains a unique and meaningful name with a rich historical and cultural background, particularly in the Scottish and English-speaking world.

People

Glennis + last name combinations

How many people share a full name with Glennis 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

Glennis: questions and answers

How many people in the U.S. are named Glennis?

Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,199 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Glennis 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 285,867 US residents.

Is Glennis a common name?

We classify Glennis as "Rare". It ranks above 91.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,777 babies have been registered with this name.

When was Glennis most popular?

The single biggest year for Glennis was 1947, when 80 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Glennis is about 69 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.

Is Glennis a female name?

Yes, 74.0% of people registered as Glennis 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.

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.

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