Jeanene
Feminine variation of the French name Jeanne, meaning "God is gracious".
Name Census estimates that about 1,589 living Americans carry the first name Jeanene. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jeanene today is around 62 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jeanene births was 1960 (90 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jeanene. 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
1.6K
~ 1 in 215,704 Americans
Peak year
1960
90 babies that year
Average age
62
years old
2009 SSA rank
#16,077
Tracked since 1928
Census
Jeanene in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,001 people with the first name Jeanene, which placed it at #7,576 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
#7,576
National first-name rank
People counted
2.0K
2,001 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
81.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jeanene
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jeanene is White at 81.4%. The next largest groups are Black (10.1%) and Hispanic (4.1%). 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 Jeanene 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 Jeanene at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.4% · 1,628
- Black or African American10.1% · 203
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 82
- Two or more races3.2% · 65
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 9
Popularity
Jeanene: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jeanene 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 608 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
Jeanene 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 Jeanene during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jeanenes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 13 states and territories. California, Texas, Illinois recorded the most babies named Jeanene, while Kentucky, Florida, Colorado recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 33 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jeanene
The name Jeanene is a French feminine given name derived from the more common name Jeanne. It is a variation of the Hebrew name Yohanan, which means "Yahweh is gracious" or "God is gracious." The name Jeanne itself has its roots in the medieval French form of the name John, which was derived from the Latin name Iohannes.
Jeanene can be traced back to the Middle Ages when the name Jeanne was popular in France. It was a common name among French nobility and royalty, with notable historical figures such as Jeanne d'Arc, also known as Joan of Arc (1412-1431), the famous French heroine who played a pivotal role in the Hundred Years' War.
While the name Jeanene is not as widely documented in ancient texts or religious scriptures as its parent name Jeanne, it likely emerged as a variant during the Renaissance period or later. One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Jeanene was Jeanene Barrault (1923-1967), a French actress known for her work in films such as "Les Misérables" (1958) and "The Bride Wore Black" (1968).
Another notable figure with the name Jeanene was Jeanene Fox (1942-2021), an American actress and singer who appeared in several Broadway productions, including "Seesaw" and "Ballroom." She also had a successful career in television and film, appearing in shows like "Maude" and "All in the Family."
In the literary world, Jeanene Marmor (born 1943) is an American author known for her children's books, including the popular "Toad Rage" series. Her works often explore themes of nature, animals, and environmental conservation.
Jeanene Garafalo (born 1964) is an American actress, comedian, and author who rose to prominence in the 1990s with her roles in films like "Reality Bites" and "The Truth About Cats and Dogs." She has also been an outspoken activist for various political and social causes.
Jeanene Harlick (born 1950) is a Canadian artist and sculptor whose works have been exhibited in galleries and museums across North America. Her sculptures often explore themes of femininity, identity, and the human form.
While the name Jeanene is not as common as its parent name Jeanne, it has a rich history rooted in French and Hebrew origins, with notable individuals who have contributed to various fields throughout the centuries.
People
Jeanene + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jeanene 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
Jeanene: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jeanene?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,589 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jeanene 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 215,704 US residents.
Is Jeanene a common name?
We classify Jeanene as "Rare". It ranks above 92.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,425 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jeanene most popular?
The single biggest year for Jeanene was 1960, when 90 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jeanene is about 62 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jeanene in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,001 people with the name Jeanene, or 0.66 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,576 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 Jeanene 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 Jeanene?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jeanene appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,994 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Jeanene?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jeanene is White at 81.4%. The next largest groups are Black (10.1%) and Hispanic (4.1%). 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 Jeanene most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Jeanene in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.4% (1,628 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 Jeanene in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jeanene a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jeanene 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 Jeanene still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jeanene 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 Jeanene 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 Jeanene?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.