Jenning
English variant of French Janine, ultimately from ancient Roman name Janinus.
Name Census estimates that about 1 living Americans carry the first name Jenning. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jenning today is around 70 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jenning births was 1925 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jenning. 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
- • The typical person named Jenning is about 70 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Jennings were born before 1966.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Jenning. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
1
~ 1 in 342,754,338 Americans
Peak year
1925
5 babies that year
Average age
70
years old
1932 SSA rank
#4,030
Tracked since 1925
Popularity
Jenning: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jenning from the 1920s through to the 1930s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 5 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jenning 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 Jenning 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 Jenning
The name Jenning is an English given name with origins dating back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old English word "Genning," which means "the son of Genna." Genna was a personal name that was popular among the Anglo-Saxons during the 5th to 11th centuries.
The earliest recorded use of the name Jenning can be traced back to the Domesday Book, a historical record compiled in 1086 by order of William the Conqueror. The Domesday Book mentions several individuals with variations of the name, such as Jenning, Genninge, and Gennynge.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Jenning was Sir Jenning de Burdett, a Norman knight who fought alongside William the Conqueror during the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. Another early figure was Jenning of Exeter, a 12th-century monk and chronicler who wrote about the history of the city of Exeter.
During the Middle Ages, the name Jenning was particularly popular in England and parts of Normandy, where it was associated with nobility and landowning families. The name also appeared in various religious texts and records from the time, indicating its widespread use among both secular and ecclesiastical circles.
In the 16th century, one notable bearer of the name was Jenning Hughson, an English explorer and navigator who accompanied Sir Francis Drake on his circumnavigation of the globe between 1577 and 1580. Another significant figure was Jenning Parkhurst, a Puritan minister and author who was born in 1628 and played a role in the early settlement of New England.
Moving into the 17th and 18th centuries, the name Jenning was carried by individuals such as Jenning Harris (1660-1724), a British politician and member of Parliament, and Jenning Jones (1715-1790), a Welsh Anglican clergyman and writer.
Other notable individuals with the name Jenning throughout history include Jenning Somerville (1807-1892), a British soldier and colonial administrator in India, and Jenning Zettersten (1881-1954), a Swedish-American inventor and engineer best known for his contributions to the development of the rotary engine.
People
Jenning + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jenning 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
Jenning: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jenning?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jenning 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 342,754,338 US residents.
Is Jenning a common name?
We classify Jenning as "Very Rare". It ranks above 3.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jenning most popular?
The single biggest year for Jenning was 1925, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jenning is about 70 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Jenning in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jenning a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jenning in the SSA data are male. 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 Jenning still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jenning 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 Jenning 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Jenning?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Jenning on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.