Jenette
A diminutive form of Jane or a feminine variant of John.
Name Census estimates that about 1,397 living Americans carry the first name Jenette. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jenette today is around 51 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jenette births was 1982 (55 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jenette. 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
1.4K
~ 1 in 245,350 Americans
Peak year
1982
55 babies that year
Average age
51
years old
2017 SSA rank
#16,986
Tracked since 1899
Popularity
Jenette: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jenette from the 1890s through to the 2010s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 392 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
Jenette 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 Jenette during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jenettes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Jenette, while Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Ohio recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 32 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jenette
The name Jenette is a feminine given name derived from the French variant of the Hebrew name Jeannette, which itself is a diminutive form of Jane or Johanna. The name Jane has its origins in the Hebrew name Yohanan, meaning "God is gracious." The earliest known records of the name Jenette date back to the 13th century in France.
In medieval France, the name Jenette was particularly popular among the upper classes and nobility. It is believed that this name gained widespread use after Saint Jeanne d'Arc, also known as Joan of Arc (c. 1412-1431), the famous French heroine who led the French army to several victories during the Hundred Years' War against the English.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jenette can be found in the writings of the 13th-century French poet and composer Thibaut de Champagne (c. 1201-1253), who mentioned a lady named Jenette in one of his poems.
In the 16th century, the name Jenette gained popularity in England, where it was often spelled as "Jennet" or "Jennett." One notable figure from this period was Jennet Mundy (c. 1538-1614), an English writer and translator who was involved in the literary circles of her time.
During the 17th century, the name Jenette appeared in various historical records, including the writings of the English playwright and poet Thomas Middleton (c. 1580-1627), who featured a character named Jenette in one of his plays.
Another notable figure with the name Jenette was the French painter Jenette Vallette (c. 1667-1740), who was known for her still-life and genre paintings during the Baroque period.
In the 18th century, the name Jenette gained popularity in Scotland, where it was often spelled as "Jennet" or "Jennett." One notable Scottish figure with this name was Jennet Renwick (c. 1718-1766), a Presbyterian covenanter who was executed for her religious beliefs during the Killing Times.
As the name Jenette spread across different cultures and regions, it evolved into various spellings and variations, such as Janette, Jeanette, and Jennet, among others. However, the core meaning and essence of the name have remained largely unchanged, reflecting its rich historical and cultural heritage.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Jenette
People
Jenette + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jenette 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
Jenette: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jenette?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,397 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jenette 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 245,350 US residents.
Is Jenette a common name?
We classify Jenette as "Rare". It ranks above 92.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,934 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jenette most popular?
The single biggest year for Jenette was 1982, when 55 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jenette is about 51 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Jenette a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jenette 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.