Jennelle
A feminine name derived from Jennifer, of English origin meaning "fair spirit".
Name Census estimates that about 1,033 living Americans carry the first name Jennelle. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jennelle today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jennelle births was 1981 (53 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jennelle. 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
1.0K
~ 1 in 331,805 Americans
Peak year
1981
53 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2021 SSA rank
#12,761
Tracked since 1950
Census
Jennelle in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,045 people with the first name Jennelle, which placed it at #12,050 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
#12,050
National first-name rank
People counted
1.0K
1,045 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
57.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jennelle
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jennelle is White at 57.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.1%) and Black (15.0%). 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 Jennelle 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 Jennelle at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White57.8% · 604
- Hispanic or Latino16.1% · 168
- Black or African American15.0% · 157
- Two or more races5.6% · 59
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.8% · 50
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 7
Popularity
Jennelle: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jennelle from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 401 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jennelle 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 Jennelle during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jennelles live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. California, New York, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Jennelle, while New Jersey, Massachusetts, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 26 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jennelle
The name Jennelle is a relatively modern feminine name with roots that can be traced back to various French and English origins. It is believed to have emerged as a combination of the names Jennie and Nelle, both of which have distinct histories.
Jennie is a diminutive form of the name Jennifer, which is derived from the Cornish name Gwenfrewi or the Welsh name Gwenhwyfar. These names are thought to be derived from the Welsh elements "gwen" meaning fair or blessed, and "hwyfar" meaning smooth or gentle. The name Jennifer was popularized in the late 16th century by the romantic novelist Pamela Norman.
Nelle, on the other hand, is a variant of the name Nellie, which is a diminutive of the name Eleanor. Eleanor originated from the Old French form "Aliénor," which itself was derived from the Occitan phrase "alia Ænor," meaning "other Aenor." Aenor was a Germanic name composed of the elements "ail" meaning "other" and "noor" meaning "honor."
The earliest recorded use of the name Jennelle can be traced back to the late 19th century, though it was relatively uncommon until the mid-20th century. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Jennelle Prager, an American actress born in 1891 who appeared in several silent films in the 1920s.
Another notable figure with the name Jennelle was Jennelle Voigt, an American singer and actress born in 1924. She performed on Broadway and television throughout the 1950s and 1960s, and was best known for her role as Mary Todd Lincoln in the 1957 film "The Buccaneer."
In the literary world, Jennelle Breedlove was an American novelist and short story writer born in 1932. Her works often explored themes of race, identity, and the African American experience in the United States.
Jennelle Holman, born in 1946, was a pioneering American computer scientist and educator. She made significant contributions to the field of computer science education and was instrumental in developing curriculum and teaching methods for introducing computer programming to students at an early age.
Jennelle Steed, born in 1968, is a British entrepreneur and businesswoman. She co-founded the successful online retailer ASOS (As Seen on Screen) in 2000, which became one of the largest fashion and beauty retailers in the UK.
While the name Jennelle has gained some popularity in recent decades, it remains a relatively uncommon choice, particularly in comparison to its root names Jennifer and Eleanor. Its unique blend of French and English influences, combined with its distinctive sound and historical associations, contribute to its appeal as a feminine name with a touch of elegance and individuality.
People
Jennelle + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jennelle 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
Jennelle: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jennelle?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,033 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jennelle 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 331,805 US residents.
Is Jennelle a common name?
We classify Jennelle as "Rare". It ranks above 90.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,103 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jennelle most popular?
The single biggest year for Jennelle was 1981, when 53 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jennelle is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jennelle in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,045 people with the name Jennelle, or 0.35 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,050 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 Jennelle 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 Jennelle?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jennelle appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,044 people counted with this name, 99.4% 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 Jennelle?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jennelle is White at 57.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.1%) and Black (15.0%). 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 Jennelle most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Jennelle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.8% (604 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 Jennelle in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jennelle a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jennelle 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 Jennelle still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jennelle 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 Jennelle 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 Jennelle?
You can see how many people share the name Jennelle on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.