Jeannetta
A feminine form of the French name Jeanne, meaning "God is gracious."
Name Census estimates that about 731 living Americans carry the first name Jeannetta. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jeannetta today is around 62 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jeannetta births was 1956 (35 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jeannetta. 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
731
~ 1 in 468,884 Americans
Peak year
1956
35 babies that year
Average age
62
years old
1995 SSA rank
#11,008
Tracked since 1892
Census
Jeannetta in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 783 people with the first name Jeannetta, which placed it at #14,879 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
#14,879
National first-name rank
People counted
783
783 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
52.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jeannetta
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jeannetta is Black at 52.0%. The next largest groups are White (39.3%) and Hispanic (3.6%). 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 Jeannetta 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 Jeannetta at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American52.0% · 407
- White39.3% · 308
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 28
- Two or more races3.2% · 25
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 4
Popularity
Jeannetta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jeannetta from the 1890s through to the 1990s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 252 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jeannetta 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 Jeannetta during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jeannettas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Pennsylvania, California, Illinois recorded the most babies named Jeannetta, while Illinois, California, Pennsylvania recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 5 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jeannetta
The given name Jeannetta finds its origins in the French language and culture, with roots dating back to the medieval period. It is a feminine form derived from the French name Jeanne, which itself evolved from the Hebrew name Yohanan, meaning "God is gracious" or "Yahweh is merciful."
In the 12th century, the name Jeanne became widely popular in France, particularly among the nobility and royalty. It was borne by several notable figures, including Jeanne d'Arc, the celebrated French heroine and Catholic saint, who was born in 1412 and played a pivotal role in the Hundred Years' War against the English.
The variant spelling Jeannetta emerged as a diminutive form of Jeanne, often used as a term of endearment or to distinguish between multiple individuals with the same name. This spelling gained prominence in various regions of Europe, particularly in France, Italy, and certain parts of the British Isles.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jeannetta can be found in the writings of the 14th-century Italian scholar and poet, Petrarch. He mentioned a woman named Jeannetta in his famous work, "Il Canzoniere," which was a collection of love poems dedicated to his muse, Laura.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Jeannetta. These include Jeannetta Wehrung (1755-1844), a German actress and playwright renowned for her work in the Weimar Court Theatre, and Jeannetta Arnette (1850-1926), an American educator and women's rights activist who advocated for equal educational opportunities for African American students.
Another prominent figure was Jeannetta Haynes (1858-1924), a British suffragist and activist who campaigned tirelessly for women's right to vote in the early 20th century. She played a significant role in the Women's Social and Political Union, working alongside renowned leaders like Emmeline Pankhurst.
In the literary world, Jeannetta Gilder (1866-1953) was an American poet and editor who co-founded the prestigious literary magazine, The Critic. Her contributions to the promotion of American literature and culture were widely recognized during her lifetime.
Lastly, Jeannetta Norris (1892-1986) was a British aviator and one of the first women to earn a pilot's license in the United Kingdom. She broke barriers and defied gender norms, paving the way for future generations of female pilots and aviation enthusiasts.
People
Jeannetta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jeannetta as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Jeannetta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jeannetta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 731 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jeannetta 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 468,884 US residents.
Is Jeannetta a common name?
We classify Jeannetta as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,510 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jeannetta most popular?
The single biggest year for Jeannetta was 1956, when 35 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jeannetta is about 62 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jeannetta in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 783 people with the name Jeannetta, or 0.26 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,879 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 Jeannetta 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 Jeannetta?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jeannetta appears almost entirely female. Of the 786 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Jeannetta?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jeannetta is Black at 52.0%. The next largest groups are White (39.3%) and Hispanic (3.6%). 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 Jeannetta most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Jeannetta in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.0% (407 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 Jeannetta in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jeannetta a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jeannetta 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 Jeannetta still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jeannetta 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 Jeannetta 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 Americans are named Jeannetta?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.