Jenaveve
Of French origin, a variation of the name Genevieve, meaning "white wave".
Name Census estimates that about 113 living Americans carry the first name Jenaveve. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jenaveve today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jenaveve births was 2007 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jenaveve. 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
113
~ 1 in 3,033,224 Americans
Peak year
2007
10 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2020 SSA rank
#14,163
Tracked since 1999
Popularity
Jenaveve: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jenaveve from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 63 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jenaveve 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 Jenaveve during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jenaveves live
Origin
Meaning and history of Jenaveve
The name Jenaveve is derived from the French language and has its origins in the Middle Ages. It is a variation of the name Genevieve, which is derived from the Germanic name Genovefa or Kenuveva. The name Genovefa is believed to be composed of the Germanic elements "kenu" meaning "race" or "kin," and "wefa" meaning "wife" or "woman."
The name Genevieve was popularized by the veneration of Saint Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris. Saint Genevieve lived in the 5th century AD and is credited with leading the defense of Paris against the Huns. Her name became widely known and adopted throughout France and other parts of Europe.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Jenaveve can be found in the 12th century in the writings of the French poet and trouvère Chrétien de Troyes. He mentioned a character named Jenaveve in his romantic poem "Érec et Énide."
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Jenaveve or its variations. One such individual was Jenaveve de Brabant, a 13th-century Dutch noblewoman and countess of Holland. Another was Jenaveve de Bourgogne, a 14th-century French noble and the wife of King John II of France.
In the literary world, Jenaveve was the name of a character in the 16th-century French play "La Calandra" by Cardinal Bibbiena. Additionally, Jenaveve Frost was an English actress and playwright who lived in the late 17th century and was known for her roles in the works of William Congreve.
Moving into the 19th century, Jenaveve Winslow was an American author and poet who published several works, including the poetry collection "Glimpses of the Ideal" in 1864. Another notable figure was Jenaveve Masson, a French sculptor and artist active in the late 19th century, known for her works in the Art Nouveau style.
These are just a few examples of individuals who bore the name Jenaveve throughout history, showcasing its enduring presence across various cultures and time periods.
People
Jenaveve + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jenaveve 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
Jenaveve: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jenaveve?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 113 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jenaveve 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 3,033,224 US residents.
Is Jenaveve a common name?
We classify Jenaveve as "Very Rare". It ranks above 66.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 114 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jenaveve most popular?
The single biggest year for Jenaveve was 2007, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jenaveve is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Jenaveve in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jenaveve a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jenaveve 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 Jenaveve still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jenaveve 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 Jenaveve 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Jenaveve?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.