Jennafer
A feminine name of English origin, a variant spelling of Jennifer.
Name Census estimates that about 1,024 living Americans carry the first name Jennafer. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jennafer today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jennafer births was 1985 (81 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jennafer. 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 Jennafer with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.0K
~ 1 in 334,721 Americans
Peak year
1985
81 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2009 SSA rank
#11,891
Tracked since 1964
Census
Jennafer in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 991 people with the first name Jennafer, which placed it at #12,527 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
#12,527
National first-name rank
People counted
991
991 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
86.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jennafer
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jennafer is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.4%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Jennafer 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 Jennafer at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.0% · 852
- Hispanic or Latino6.4% · 63
- Two or more races3.7% · 37
- Black or African American2.3% · 23
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 5
Popularity
Jennafer: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jennafer from the 1960s through to the 2000s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 452 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jennafer 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 Jennafer during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jennafers live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Jennafer, while Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 25 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jennafer
The name Jennafer has its origins rooted in the ancient Greek language, with its roots tracing back to the 5th century BC. It is believed to be a variant of the name Gwendoline, which itself is derived from the Welsh name Gwendolen, meaning "white ring" or "white circle."
The earliest recorded use of the name Jennafer can be found in the writings of the Greek philosopher Plato, who mentioned a woman by this name in his dialogues. However, the name did not gain widespread popularity until much later in history.
In the Middle Ages, the name Jennafer appeared in various literary works and historical records, particularly in England and France. One notable example is the 12th-century French epic poem, "The Song of Roland," which features a character named Jennafer.
During the Renaissance period, the name Jennafer gained some prominence, with several notable figures bearing this name. Jennafer de Medici (1520-1589), an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts, was a significant figure during this time. Another famous Jennafer from this era was Jennafer Sforza (1463-1497), a Italian Renaissance ruler and patron of the arts.
In the 17th century, the name Jennafer found its way into English literature, with the playwright William Shakespeare using it for a character in his play "The Taming of the Shrew." This helped to further popularize the name in England and other parts of the English-speaking world.
Other notable historical figures with the name Jennafer include Jennafer Austen (1775-1817), the renowned English novelist known for works such as "Pride and Prejudice" and "Sense and Sensibility." Jennafer Nightingale (1820-1910), the pioneering English nurse and social reformer, also bore this name.
While the name Jennafer has experienced various periods of popularity and decline throughout history, it has remained a relatively uncommon name in many parts of the world. Its unique blend of Greek and Welsh origins, combined with its literary and historical associations, have contributed to its enduring appeal and significance.
People
Jennafer + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jennafer 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
Jennafer: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jennafer?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,024 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jennafer 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 334,721 US residents.
Is Jennafer a common name?
We classify Jennafer as "Rare". It ranks above 90.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,080 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jennafer most popular?
The single biggest year for Jennafer was 1985, when 81 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jennafer is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jennafer in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 991 people with the name Jennafer, or 0.33 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,527 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 Jennafer 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 Jennafer?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jennafer appears almost entirely female. Of the 981 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 Jennafer?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jennafer is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.4%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Jennafer most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Jennafer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.0% (852 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 Jennafer in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jennafer a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jennafer 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 Jennafer still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jennafer 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 Jennafer 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 Jennafer?
You can see how many people have the name Jennafer on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.