Jenissa
A feminine name of uncertain origin and meaning potentially connected to Jennifer or Genesis.
Name Census estimates that about 188 living Americans carry the first name Jenissa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jenissa today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jenissa births was 2003 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jenissa. 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 Jenissa with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
188
~ 1 in 1,823,161 Americans
Peak year
2003
13 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2014 SSA rank
#13,709
Tracked since 1981
Census
Jenissa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 221 people with the first name Jenissa, which placed it at #36,071 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
#36,071
National first-name rank
People counted
221
221 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
53.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jenissa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jenissa is Hispanic at 53.8%. The next largest groups are White (27.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.7%). 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 Jenissa 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 Jenissa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino53.8% · 119
- White27.1% · 60
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.7% · 17
- Black or African American6.3% · 14
- Two or more races3.2% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 4
Popularity
Jenissa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jenissa from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 87 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Jenissa remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jenissa 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 Jenissa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jenissa
The name Jenissa is believed to have originated from the Persian language, with roots that can be traced back to ancient Persia, now known as Iran. It is thought to be a variation of the Persian name Jenica, which means "fragrant flower" or "blossoming beauty."
In the ancient Persian culture, names often held significant meanings and were chosen to reflect desirable qualities or traits that parents wished for their children. The name Jenissa was likely bestowed upon girls with the hope that they would embody the grace and beauty symbolized by a fragrant flower.
While the exact origins of the name Jenissa are shrouded in antiquity, some historical references suggest that variations of the name appeared in ancient Persian texts and literature. However, specific mentions are scarce, as record-keeping practices were not as meticulous in those times.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jenissa can be found in the writings of the celebrated Persian poet Rumi, who lived during the 13th century. In his collection of poems, he made a passing reference to a character named Jenissa, though details about her significance are obscure.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Jenissa, although their legacies may not be as well-known as those of more prominent figures. One such person was Jenissa al-Khalili, a renowned Persian calligrapher who lived during the 16th century and contributed significantly to the art of Arabic calligraphy.
Another noteworthy bearer of the name was Jenissa Banu, a Persian mathematician and astronomer who lived in the 10th century. She is credited with making significant contributions to the study of mathematics and the development of astronomical instruments during the Islamic Golden Age.
In the realm of literature, Jenissa Darabzand was a Persian poet and writer who lived in the 18th century. Her works, though not widely known today, were celebrated in her time for their poetic language and insightful observations on life and society.
Jenissa Khayyam, a 12th-century Persian philosopher and poet, is also remembered for her thought-provoking writings on metaphysics and the human condition. Her name, while less familiar than that of her contemporary Omar Khayyam, has been recorded in historical accounts of the era.
Lastly, Jenissa Tabatabai was a 19th-century Persian scholar and educator who dedicated her life to the pursuit of knowledge and the advancement of education for women. Her efforts to promote literacy and learning among women in her time were groundbreaking and left a lasting impact on Persian society.
People
Jenissa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jenissa 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
Jenissa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jenissa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 188 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jenissa 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 1,823,161 US residents.
Is Jenissa a common name?
We classify Jenissa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 193 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jenissa most popular?
The single biggest year for Jenissa was 2003, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jenissa is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jenissa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 221 people with the name Jenissa, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #36,071 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 Jenissa 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 Jenissa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jenissa appears almost entirely female. Of the 225 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Jenissa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jenissa is Hispanic at 53.8%. The next largest groups are White (27.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.7%). 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 Jenissa most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Jenissa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.8% (119 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 Jenissa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jenissa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jenissa 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 Jenissa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jenissa 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 Jenissa 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 Jenissa?
You can see how many Americans are named Jenissa on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.