Jenifer
A feminine given name of English origin meaning "the fair one".
Name Census estimates that about 23,047 living Americans carry the first name Jenifer. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jenifer today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jenifer births was 1974 (923 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jenifer. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Jenifer with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
23K
~ 1 in 14,872 Americans
Peak year
1974
923 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
1989 SSA rank
#5,678
Tracked since 1933
Census
Jenifer in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 27,429 people with the first name Jenifer, which placed it at #1,329 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
#1,329
National first-name rank
People counted
27K
27,429 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
9.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
63.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jenifer
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jenifer is White at 63.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (26.3%) and Black (3.5%). 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 Jenifer 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 Jenifer at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White63.4% · 17,386
- Hispanic or Latino26.3% · 7,203
- Black or African American3.5% · 966
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.5% · 956
- Two or more races2.8% · 773
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 145
Gender
Gender distribution for Jenifer
Out of the 25,558 babies given the name Jenifer since 1880, 99.9% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Jenifer as a male name
- Ranked #7,398 in 1989
- 6 male births in 1989
- Peak: 1985 (6 births)
Jenifer as a female name
- Ranked #5,678 in 2024
- 22 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1974 (923 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jenifer appears almost entirely female. Of the 27,430 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Jenifer: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jenifer from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 8,169 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
Jenifer 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 Jenifer during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jenifers live
The SSA's state-level files cover 50 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Jenifer, while Vermont, Maine, Alaska recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 443 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jenifer
The name Jenifer is an English feminine name derived from the Welsh name Gwenhwyfar, which means "smooth, white wave" or "fair wanderer." It is also a variant of the name Jennifer, which is a Cornish form of the Welsh name.
The earliest recorded use of the name Jenifer dates back to the 16th century in England. It is believed that the name gained popularity due to its association with the legendary Queen Guinevere, the wife of King Arthur in Arthurian legends. The name Gwenhwyfar was adapted into various forms, including Jenever, Jenifer, and Jennifer.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Jenifer was Jenifer Walwyn, an English writer and translator who lived in the late 16th century. She is known for her translation of French works into English, including the writings of Michel de Montaigne.
In the 17th century, Jenifer Browning was a prominent figure in English history. She was born in 1628 and was a Puritan writer and activist who advocated for religious freedom and women's rights. Her works included several pamphlets and treatises on religious and political topics.
During the 18th century, Jenifer Hendricks was a notable American artist and portraitist. Born in 1745 in Maryland, she was known for her realistic and detailed portraits of prominent figures in the American colonies.
In the 19th century, Jenifer Wilkinson was a British writer and poet who gained recognition for her romantic poetry and novels. She was born in 1810 and published several works, including "The Wandering Heart" and "Echoes of the Past."
Another notable figure with the name Jenifer was Jenifer Osceola, a Seminole leader and activist born in 1833. She played a crucial role in the Seminole Wars, resisting the forced removal of her tribe from their ancestral lands in Florida.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have borne the name Jenifer. The name's rich history and connection to Welsh and Arthurian legends have contributed to its enduring popularity and cultural significance.
People
Jenifer + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jenifer 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
Jenifer: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jenifer?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 23,047 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jenifer 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 14,872 US residents.
Is Jenifer a common name?
We classify Jenifer as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 25,558 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jenifer most popular?
The single biggest year for Jenifer was 1974, when 923 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jenifer 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 Jenifer in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 27,429 people with the name Jenifer, or 9.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,329 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 Jenifer 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 Jenifer?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jenifer appears almost entirely female. Of the 27,430 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Jenifer?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jenifer is White at 63.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (26.3%) and Black (3.5%). 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 Jenifer most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Jenifer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.4% (17,386 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 Jenifer in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jenifer a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Jenifer 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 Jenifer still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jenifer 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 Jenifer 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 share the name Jenifer?
You can see how many people have the name Jenifer on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.