Genevive
A feminine name of French origin meaning "well born" or "the white wave".
Name Census estimates that about 452 living Americans carry the first name Genevive. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Genevive today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Genevive births was 1923 (35 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Genevive. 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
452
~ 1 in 758,306 Americans
Peak year
1923
35 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2023 SSA rank
#15,984
Tracked since 1892
Census
Genevive in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 832 people with the first name Genevive, which placed it at #14,214 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
#14,214
National first-name rank
People counted
832
832 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
42.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Genevive
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Genevive is White at 42.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (31.6%) and Black (11.1%). 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 Genevive 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 Genevive at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White42.2% · 351
- Hispanic or Latino31.6% · 263
- Black or African American11.1% · 92
- Asian and Pacific Islander9.7% · 81
- Two or more races3.1% · 26
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.3% · 19
Popularity
Genevive: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Genevive from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 234 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Genevive 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 Genevive during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Genevives live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Illinois, Texas recorded the most babies named Genevive, while New York, Texas, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 10 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Genevive
The name Genevieve is of French origin, derived from the Germanic word "Genovefa" or "Kenowefa," which means "tribal woman" or "woman of the race." Its roots can be traced back to the 5th century in the Frankish territories of ancient Gaul, modern-day France.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Genevieve can be found in the life of Saint Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris, who lived from around 419 to 512 AD. She is celebrated for her courage and devotion during the Siege of Paris by the Huns, where legend has it that she persuaded the people to remain in the city and pray, leading to the retreat of the invading forces.
In the Middle Ages, the name Genevieve gained popularity across Europe, particularly in France and England. Notable figures bearing this name include Genevieve of Brabant (c. 1130-1183), a duchess of Brabant and the subject of a medieval romance; and Genevieve de Gaulle (1920-1963), the wife of French President Charles de Gaulle.
During the Renaissance period, the name continued to be widely used, with Genevieve Brossart de Meré (1543-1625), a French noblewoman and writer, being one of the most prominent figures of the time. In the 17th century, Genevieve Feuillette (1663-1736), a French midwife and author, made significant contributions to the field of obstetrics.
The 19th century saw the name Genevieve gain traction in the English-speaking world, with notable figures such as Genevieve Ward (1837-1924), an American actress and playwright, and Genevieve Haxton (1859-1939), an Australian physician and women's rights activist.
As the name traversed different cultures and eras, it underwent various spellings and pronunciations, including Genoveva, Guinevere, and Ginevra, reflecting the linguistic diversity and influences of different regions.
People
Genevive + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Genevive as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Genevive: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Genevive?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 452 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Genevive 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 758,306 US residents.
Is Genevive a common name?
We classify Genevive as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,069 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Genevive most popular?
The single biggest year for Genevive was 1923, when 35 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Genevive 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 Genevive in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 832 people with the name Genevive, or 0.28 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,214 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 Genevive 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 Genevive?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Genevive appears almost entirely female. Of the 834 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Genevive?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Genevive is White at 42.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (31.6%) and Black (11.1%). 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 Genevive most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Genevive in the 2020 Census, accounting for 42.2% (351 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 Genevive in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Genevive a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Genevive 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 Genevive still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Genevive 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 Genevive 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 are named Genevive?
See how many people share the name Genevive on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.