Jenita
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly related to Jane.
Name Census estimates that about 396 living Americans carry the first name Jenita. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jenita today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jenita births was 1977 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jenita. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Jenita with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
396
~ 1 in 865,541 Americans
Peak year
1977
20 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
2006 SSA rank
#18,401
Tracked since 1936
Census
Jenita in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 518 people with the first name Jenita, which placed it at #20,076 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
#20,076
National first-name rank
People counted
518
518 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
47.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jenita
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jenita is Black at 47.3%. The next largest groups are White (26.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (16.2%). 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 Jenita 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 Jenita at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American47.3% · 245
- White26.3% · 136
- Asian and Pacific Islander16.2% · 84
- Hispanic or Latino5.4% · 28
- Two or more races2.7% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.1% · 11
Popularity
Jenita: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jenita from the 1930s through to the 2000s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 131 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jenita 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 Jenita during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jenitas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Jenita
The name Jenita is believed to have its origins in the Sanskrit language, with roots tracing back to ancient India. One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the Mahabharata, a revered Hindu epic dating back to the 8th century BCE. In this text, Jenita is mentioned as the name of a minor deity or celestial nymph.
The name Jenita is derived from the Sanskrit word "janita," which means "born" or "created." This linguistic connection suggests that the name may have originally held connotations of birth, creation, or new beginnings. Over time, the name underwent various spelling variations, including Janita, Jenitra, and Jeneeta.
In the ancient Tamil literature of southern India, there are records of a renowned poet and scholar named Jenita Adigal, who lived during the 7th century CE. Her works, which explored themes of spirituality and philosophy, were widely celebrated and contributed to the preservation of the name's legacy.
During the medieval period, the name Jenita gained prominence in parts of the Middle East and Central Asia, particularly in regions influenced by Persian culture. One notable figure bearing this name was Jenita Khatun, a 13th-century princess and patron of the arts from the Ghurids dynasty in present-day Afghanistan.
As trade and cultural exchanges flourished along the Silk Road, the name Jenita gradually made its way to Europe, where it underwent further linguistic adaptations. In the 16th century, there are records of a Venetian noblewoman named Jenita Contarini, who was known for her philanthropy and support of the arts.
Other notable individuals with the name Jenita include Jenita Featherstone (1845-1920), a British author and social reformer, and Jenita Gonzalez (1889-1965), a Mexican painter and activist celebrated for her vibrant portrayals of indigenous life and culture.
While the name Jenita has maintained a presence throughout history, it remains relatively uncommon compared to other names of similar origins. Its enduring legacy, however, serves as a testament to the rich cultural tapestry woven by the diverse civilizations and traditions that have shaped its meaning and significance over the centuries.
People
Jenita + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jenita 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
Jenita: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jenita?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 396 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jenita 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 865,541 US residents.
Is Jenita a common name?
We classify Jenita as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 473 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jenita most popular?
The single biggest year for Jenita was 1977, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jenita is about 52 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jenita in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 518 people with the name Jenita, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,076 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 Jenita 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 Jenita?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jenita appears almost entirely female. Of the 517 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 Jenita?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jenita is Black at 47.3%. The next largest groups are White (26.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (16.2%). 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 Jenita most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Jenita in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.3% (245 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 Jenita in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jenita a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jenita 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 Jenita still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jenita 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 Jenita 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 share the name Jenita?
Find out how many people share the name Jenita on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.