Lenette
A feminine name of French origin meaning "brave as a lion".
Name Census estimates that about 794 living Americans carry the first name Lenette. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lenette today is around 57 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lenette births was 1960 (37 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lenette. 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
794
~ 1 in 431,681 Americans
Peak year
1960
37 babies that year
Average age
57
years old
2008 SSA rank
#16,610
Tracked since 1921
Popularity
Lenette: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lenette from the 1920s through to the 2000s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 321 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lenette 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 Lenette during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lenettes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, New York, Illinois recorded the most babies named Lenette, while Pennsylvania, Illinois, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 20 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lenette
The name Lenette is believed to have its origins in the French language, derived from the Old French word "lene," which means "linen." The name was particularly popular during the Middle Ages in France and surrounding regions.
Lenette is a feminine form of the masculine name Lenet, which is thought to have been initially used as a surname referring to someone involved in the linen trade or production. Over time, the name transitioned from a occupational surname to a given name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lenette can be found in the "Chartularium Monasterii Beatae Mariae de Rievalle" from the 12th century, which mentions a woman named Lenette de Montfort. This suggests that the name was in use among the French nobility during that period.
In the 13th century, the name appears in the "Chronicles of the Reign of King Louis IX of France," where it is mentioned that a woman named Lenette was a member of the king's court. This further reinforces the use of the name among the upper classes of medieval French society.
During the Renaissance period, the name Lenette gained popularity among artists and intellectuals. One notable figure was Lenette de Boulogne, a 16th-century French poet and writer, born in 1532. Her works, including "Le Jardin d'Amour" and "Les Fleurs de Poésie," were widely acclaimed during her lifetime.
In the 17th century, Lenette Duval, a French actress and dancer, born in 1648, gained recognition for her performances in the renowned Comédie-Française theatre in Paris. She was celebrated for her roles in plays by renowned playwrights such as Molière and Racine.
Another significant figure was Lenette de La Fayette, born in 1634, a French novelist and writer best known for her novel "The Princess of Cleves," which is considered a landmark work in the development of the modern novel.
In the 18th century, Lenette Bourgeois, a French painter and engraver, born in 1719, made her mark in the art world. Her etchings and engravings were highly praised, and she was elected to the prestigious Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture in Paris.
The name Lenette continued to be used throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, though its popularity declined in comparison to earlier periods. Notable individuals include Lenette Humphrey, an American poet and author born in 1892, and Lenette Mowat, a Canadian artist and illustrator born in 1920.
People
Lenette + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lenette as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Lenette: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lenette?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 794 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lenette 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 431,681 US residents.
Is Lenette a common name?
We classify Lenette as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,013 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lenette most popular?
The single biggest year for Lenette was 1960, when 37 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lenette is about 57 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Lenette a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lenette 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.