Jennifer
Top 1000
About Jennifer
Jennifer is the Cornish variation of Guinevere, which ultimately derived from the Welsh name Gwenhwyfar. As such, it is connected to the queen of Arthurian legend, and sharees the same meaning of "white shadow", "white wave", or "white phantom".
It has been in use in the English-speaking world since the 18th century but came to prominence in the 20th, after playwright George Bernard Shaw chose Jennifer for the name of his leading lady in his play The Doctor's Dilemma in 1906. It took a little more time to catch on in the US, but by the 1940s it was on the up and remained so until its heyday in the 70s.
But how did this Cornish name, originally used only among Cornish immigrants to the US, become such a star? One possibility is that parents were inspired by its similarity of other longstanding popular choices, such as Janet, Jane, Jenny, Jean, and Josephine, but another factor is pop culture. It was likely propelled on by actress Jennifer Jones and the use of the name in a variety of films, including I Married A Witch (1942), Portrait of Jennie (1948), Jennifer (1953), and Valley of the Dolls ( (1967). The songs Jenny Rebecca, Jennifer Eccles and Jennifer "Juniper" might also have got the name in people's heads.
Jennifer became the girl top name of the 1970s in the US, when there were close to 800,000 Jennifers born, meaning 3.5% of girls born were called Jennifer. To put it in perspective, the second most popular name of the decade, Amy, was given to 1.6% of girls in the same time period, while 90s favorites Ashley and Jessica were chosen for 1.5% in they own heyday.
Jennifer began to really fall back down the charts in the 2000s and by 2010 it was out of the Top 100. Currently, it sits just outside the Top 500 in the US and just within it in the UK.
While Jennifer might be out of style then (and perhaps even slightly unexpected these days), a number of names with similar sounds have taken over. These include Genevieve, Imogen, Josephine, and Genesis, while the more modern Cornish fave is probably Elowen (or Elowyn).
Pronounced JEN-uh-fur.
As of October 2026, Jennifer ranked #586 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #1 in 1982, Nameberry popularity #217.
Editor's take: The name Jennifer is a girl's name of Cornish origin meaning "white shadow, white wave".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #222 | 1,521 | 851.5 |
| 2015 | #251 | 1,286 | 720.4 |
| 2016 | #272 | 1,162 | 655.7 |
| 2017 | #309 | 1,052 | 609.3 |
| 2018 | #344 | 921 | 541.4 |
| 2019 | #391 | 788 | 469.5 |
| 2020 | #431 | 712 | 440.4 |
| 2021 | #494 | 638 | 388.8 |
| 2022 | #501 | 630 | 384.1 |
| 2023 | #521 | 584 | 364 |
| 2024 | #547 | 552 | 340.7 |
| 2025 | #586 | 501 | 311.7 |
World rankings
Similar names
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Jennifer on lists
Famous Jennifers
- Jennifer Jones (born Phylis Lee Isley)
American actress
- Jennifer Shrader Lawrence
American Actress
- Jennifer Maria Capriati
American tennis player
- Jennifer Joanna Aniston
American actress
- Jennifer Lynn Lopez
American singer/actress
- Jennifer Love Hewitt
American actress
- Jennifer Kate Hudson
American singer/actress
- Jennifer J. Arroyo
bassist for Canadian band Kittie
- Jennifer Anne Garner
American actress
- Jennifer Lynn Connelly
American actress
- Jennifer Marie Morrison
American actress
- Jennifer Grey
American actress
- Jennifer Jason Leigh (born Jennifer Leigh Morrow)
American actress
- Jennifer
Yvette Holliday, American actress/singer
- Jennifer Tilly (born Jennifer Ellen Chan)
American actress
- Jennifer Lindsay Stone
American actress
- Jennifer Paige
American singer,songwriter
- Jennifer Beals
American actress
- Jennifer Jane Saunders
English actress and comedienne of duo French & Saunders
- Jennifer Esposito
American actress
- Jennifer Odessa Nettles
lead singer of American country band Sugarland
- Jennifer Coolidge
American actress/comedienne
- Jennifer Nicole Freeman
American actress
- Jennifer Kate Stitt Davidson
American former vice president of The Cartoon Network
- Jennifer Lesley Ellison
English actress, model and singer
- Jennifer Christina Finnigan
Canadian actress
- Jennifer Kathleen Hanson
American country music singer,songwriter
- Jennifer Johnston
Irish novelist
- Jennifer Michelle Lee
American film director
- Jennifer Lynn Knapp
American,Australian folk rock singer
- Jennifer J. Lavoie
American model and actress
- Jennifer Ann Lien
American actress
- Jennifer Chambers Lynch
American film director
- Jennifer Leann Carpenter
American actress
- Jennifer "Kitty" Dunn
drummer of the American rock band Mindless Self Indulgence
- Jennifer Shu
Chinese actress
- Jennifer Lee Worth
British midwife and author of "Call the Midwife"
- Jasmine Lucilla Elizabeth Jennifer van den Bogaerde aka Birdy
English singer, songwriter
- Jennifer Patricia 'Jen' Beattie
Scottish football player
- Jennifer Young (b. 1964)
daughter of actor Gig Young
- Jennifer Grant (b. 1966)
daughter of actor Cary Grant
- Jennifer Chambers Lynch (b. 1968)
director; daughter of director David Lynch
- Jennifer Adamson (b. 1971)
daughter of actor Kit Culkin; half,sister of Macaulay Culkin
- Jennifer Katharine Gates (b. 1996)
daughter of Microsoft's Bill and Melinda Gates
- Jennifer Jane Brown (b. 2001)
late daughter of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown
- Jennifer Danielle Duggar (b. 2007)
17th child of reality TV's Duggar family
- Jennifer Lee Wiggins
American actress , of Chinese & Irish/English descent
- Jennifer Lynn "Jen" Affleck
TikTok influencer and reality TV personality
Jennifer in pop culture
- Jennifer Carson
character on Australian TV series "Carson's Law"
- Jennifer "Jen" Lindley
character on TV's "Dawson's Creek"
- Jennifer Tallulah Humphrey
character on TV's "Gossip Girl"
- Jennifer "J" Robbins
character on TV's "Into the Dark"
- Jennifer Check
main character in 2009 film "Jennifer's Body"
- Jennifer Kale
sorceress in Marvel Comics
- Jennifer Parker
character in the "Back to the Future" series
- Jennifer Keller
character on TV's "Stargate Atlantis"
- Jennifer "J.J" Jareau
character on TV's "Criminal Minds"
- Jennifer "Jenny Matrix" Mattheus
character from YouTube series Video Game High School
- Miss Jennifer Honey
nice teacher from book/movie "Matilda"
- Jennifer Dugan
character in the movie "Spiderman 3"
- Jennifer
Louis Dubedat's beautiful wife in the 1906 play "The Doctor's Dilemma" by G. Bernard Shaw; upon introduction, Dr. Ridgeon remarks, "That's a strange name." Jennifer answers, "Not in Cornwall."
- Jennifer Adams Townsend
character from Yesterday's child, by Barbara Wood
- Jennifer "Jen" Scotts
Pink Power Ranger on TV's Power Rangers Time Force
- Jennifer McMinamin
character in the YouTube series "Most Popular Girls in School"
- "Jennifer
" 1953 film
- "Jennifer Juniper
" 1968 song by Donovan that sent this name to the top of the charts
- "Jennifer Ever
" song by The Smashing Pumpkins
- Jennifer Adams
main character in 'The Gray Wolves' series by Quinn Loftis
- Jennifer Pierce
younger daughter of Jefferson Pierce aka Black Lightening
- Jennifer "Jen"
character in novel series "Real Friends"
- Jennifer "Jen K" Kenney
character in series "Greek"
- Jennifer "Jen" Ann Masterson
a main character in series "6teen"
- "Jennifer's Body"
2009 film
- "Jennifer's Body"
1994 song by Hole
- Jennifer
a main character in film “Pleasantville”