Jennie
Feminine diminutive form of Jane, derived from the Hebrew name Yohanan meaning "God is gracious".
Name Census estimates that about 33,777 living Americans carry the first name Jennie. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jennie today is around 57 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jennie births was 1917 (3,119 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jennie. 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.
Key insights
- • Although Jennie is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 479 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • Compared to the 1910s, recent registration numbers for Jennie have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
34K
~ 1 in 10,148 Americans
Peak year
1917
3,119 babies that year
Average age
57
years old
1988 SSA rank
#1,751
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Jennie
Out of the 127,581 babies given the name Jennie since 1880, 99.6% 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.
Jennie as a male name
- Ranked #7,823 in 1988
- 5 male births in 1988
- Peak: 1928 (17 births)
Jennie as a female name
- Ranked #1,751 in 2024
- 115 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1917 (3,109 births)
Popularity
Jennie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jennie from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 23,136 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jennie 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 Jennie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jennies live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. New York, Pennsylvania, California recorded the most babies named Jennie, while Nevada, Alaska, Wyoming recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 1,783 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jennie
The name Jennie is an English variant of the name Jennifer, which has its origins in the Welsh language. The name Jennifer is a compound word derived from the Welsh elements "gwen" meaning fair or white, and "fferen" meaning smooth or smooth-browed.
In the 16th century, the name Jennifer made its first recorded appearance in the poetry of the Welsh writer Siôn Phylip. The name Jennie, as a diminutive form of Jennifer, emerged in the late 18th century and grew in popularity in the following centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jennie can be found in the works of Scottish novelist Sir Walter Scott. In his novel "The Heart of Midlothian," published in 1818, Scott introduced a character named Jeanie Deans, which helped popularize the spelling variation Jennie.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Jennie. One of the most famous was Jennie Churchill (1854-1921), the mother of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Another prominent Jennie was Jennie Jerome (1854-1921), an American socialite who married Lord Randolph Churchill and was the mother of Winston Churchill.
In the realm of literature, Jennie Grahame (1837-1887) was a Scottish novelist and author of children's books, including the classic "The Wind in the Willows." Jennie Lee (1904-1988) was a British politician and cabinet minister, known for her work in promoting the arts and founding the Open University.
Jennie Baxter (1798-1873) was an American pioneer and diarist who documented her journey along the Oregon Trail in the mid-19th century. Her diary, published as "Jennie Baxter's Journal," provides a valuable account of the experiences of early settlers in the American West.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the name Jennie throughout history, reflecting its enduring popularity and cultural significance.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Jennie
People
Jennie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jennie 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
Jennie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jennie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 33,777 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jennie 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 10,148 US residents.
Is Jennie a common name?
We classify Jennie as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 127,581 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jennie most popular?
The single biggest year for Jennie was 1917, when 3,119 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jennie is about 57 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Jennie a female name?
Yes, 99.6% of people registered as Jennie 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.