Jenin
A feminine Arabic name meaning "paradisiacal garden".
Name Census estimates that about 231 living Americans carry the first name Jenin. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jenin today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jenin births was 2002 (46 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jenin. 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 Jenin with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
231
~ 1 in 1,483,785 Americans
Peak year
2002
46 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,312
Tracked since 2002
Census
Jenin in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 232 people with the first name Jenin, which placed it at #34,960 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
#34,960
National first-name rank
People counted
232
232 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
70.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jenin
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jenin is White at 70.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (9.1%). 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 Jenin 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 Jenin at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.3% · 163
- Hispanic or Latino11.6% · 27
- Asian and Pacific Islander9.1% · 21
- Two or more races5.2% · 12
- Black or African American2.6% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 3
Popularity
Jenin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jenin from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 124 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Jenin remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jenin 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 Jenin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jenins live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. New Jersey, California, Illinois recorded the most babies named Jenin, while Illinois, California, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 16 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jenin
The name Jenin is of Arabic origin and has its roots in the Semitic languages of the Middle East. It is believed to have derived from the Arabic word "Janna," meaning "paradise" or "garden." This association suggests that the name may have been given to children as a symbol of hope, beauty, and prosperity.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jenin can be traced back to the 7th century CE, when it was mentioned in ancient Arabic poetry and literature. During this time, the name was primarily used in the Arabian Peninsula and the Levant region, which includes modern-day Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine.
The city of Jenin, located in the northern West Bank, is believed to have been named after an individual bearing this name. The city has a long and rich history, with evidence of human settlement dating back to the Bronze Age. It is mentioned in several historical texts, including the Bible, where it is referred to as "Gina" or "Ginea."
Throughout history, several notable figures have carried the name Jenin. One of the earliest known is Jenin al-Baghdadi (1126-1193), an influential Arab poet and scholar from Baghdad, who was renowned for her contributions to literature and Islamic jurisprudence.
Another prominent figure was Jenin al-Husayni (1590-1670), a Palestinian scholar and writer who authored several works on Islamic theology and philosophy. He was highly respected in his time and played a significant role in preserving and promoting Arab cultural heritage.
In more recent times, Jenin Younes (1935-2010) was a renowned Egyptian actress and singer who rose to fame in the 1960s and 1970s. She starred in numerous films and television shows and was celebrated for her talent and versatility as a performer.
Jenin al-Haj (born 1976) is a contemporary Palestinian-American lawyer and activist. She has been a vocal advocate for human rights and has worked tirelessly to raise awareness about the ongoing conflict in Palestine.
Finally, Jenin Murad (born 1989) is a Syrian-American model and social media influencer. She has used her platform to promote body positivity and has been recognized for her efforts in empowering women and challenging traditional beauty standards.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the name Jenin throughout history, highlighting its enduring popularity and significance across different cultures and time periods.
People
Jenin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jenin 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
Jenin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jenin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 231 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jenin 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 1,483,785 US residents.
Is Jenin a common name?
We classify Jenin as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 234 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jenin most popular?
The single biggest year for Jenin was 2002, when 46 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jenin is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jenin in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 232 people with the name Jenin, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #34,960 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 Jenin 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 Jenin?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jenin leans strongly female. 212 people counted with this name were female (92.2%), compared with 18 male bearers (7.8%). 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 Jenin?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jenin is White at 70.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (9.1%). 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 Jenin most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Jenin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.3% (163 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 Jenin in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jenin a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jenin 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 Jenin still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jenin 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 Jenin 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 Jenin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.