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Jennifer as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Jennifer

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The baby name Jennifer is a Female name , 3 syllables long and is pronounced /ˈdʒɛnɪfər/ (JEN-ih-fer); UK: /ˈdʒɛnɪfə/.

Jennifer is Cornish in Origin.

Gender: Female
Syllables: 3.0
Origin: Cornish
Pronunciation: /ˈdʒɛnɪfər/ (JEN-ih-fer); UK: /ˈdʒɛnɪfə/

What is the meaning of the name Jennifer ?

The baby name Jennifer is a Female name , 3 syllables long and is pronounced /ˈdʒɛnɪfər/ (JEN-ih-fer); UK: /ˈdʒɛnɪfə/.

Jennifer is Cornish in Origin.

Jennifer is the modern Cornish adaptation of the medieval name Guinevere, ultimately from the Welsh Gwenhwyfar. Its elements are gwen, meaning white, fair, blessed, and hwyfar, often glossed as smooth, soft and by folk etymology linked to phantom or fey; together they yield senses such as the fair or white one, or white enchantress.

Documented in Cornwall by the 18th century, Jennifer remained regional until the 20th century, when it entered wide English-language use and then dominated naming charts: in the United States it ranked number one for girls from 1970 to 1984 and was also highly popular in Britain, Canada, and elsewhere. Related forms include Guinevere (English), Gwenhwyfar (Welsh), Guenièvre (French), and Ginevra (Italian); Spanish-influenced spellings Yenifer/Yennifer also occur. Common diminutives are Jen, Jenn, Jenny, and Jennie; variant spellings include Jenifer and Jennefer. Despite its modern feel, the name carries the romance of Arthurian legend.

Jennifer has the following similar or variant Names

Famous people with the name Jennifer

Jennifer Love Hewitt Actor · Born 1979 · United States Jennifer Love Hewitt is an American actress best known for her role as Sarah Reeves Merrin on the TV show 'Party of Five' and as Julie James in the film 'I Know What You Did Last Summer'. She also starred in the TV series 'Ghost Whisperer', where she played the lead role of Melinda Gordon, a woman who can communicate with spirits. Jennifer Hudson Actor|musician · Born 1981 · United States Jennifer Hudson is best known as a singer and actress, rising to fame on American Idol and later starring in Dreamgirls, for which she won an Oscar. She has also been recognized for songs like "Spotlight" and for playing Aretha Franklin in Respect, and in 2022 she became the youngest woman to achieve EGOT status. Jennifer Jones Actor · Born 1919 · United States Jennifer Jones was an American actress best known for her Academy Award-winning role in 'The Song of Bernadette'. She also starred in notable films like 'Duel in the Sun' and 'Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing'. Her performances left a lasting impact on Hollywood's Golden Age.
Jennifer Jason Leigh Actor · Born 1962 · United States Jennifer Jason Leigh is an American actor best known for her role in the film 'Fast Times at Ridgemont High'. She also starred in 'The Hateful Eight' and 'Single White Female', showcasing her versatility and depth in various genres. Jennifer Carpenter Actor · Born 1979 · United States Jennifer Carpenter is an American actor best known for her role as Debra Morgan in the television series Dexter. She also appeared in films like The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Quarantine. Jennifer Stone Actor · Born 1993 · United States Jennifer Stone is best known for playing Harper Finkle on the Disney Channel sitcom Wizards of Waverly Place. Born on February 12, 1993, she is an American podcaster, social media personality, and former actress who first became widely known as a child actor on the show from 2007 to 2012.

Celebrity babies named Jennifer

Name Last Name(s) Mother Mother famous for Fame Level Father Father famous for Fame Level
Jennifer Nicholson Sandra Knight television actor ★★★★★ Jack Nicholson film director ★★★★★
Jennifer Lynch David Lynch film director ★★★★★
Jennifer Grant Dyan Cannon film director ★★★★★ Cary Grant comedian ★★★★★
Jennifer Crystal Foley Billy Crystal film director ★★★★★
Jennifer Edwards Blake Edwards film director ★★★★★
Jennifer Candy John Candy film director ★★★★★
Jennifer Ehle Rosemary Harris television actor ★★★★★

Jennifer – Popularity by country

Based on birth registration data from national statistics agencies.

Country Gender Year Rank Born of
Ireland Girls 2025 #1 — 874
Germany Girls 2017 #1 — 431
FJ Girls 0 #9 1 583
PH Girls 0 #10 1,130 13,098
PH 0 #12 99 5,607
KR Girls 0 #13 3 572
SV Girls 0 #17 2 458
BW 0 #18 2 960
HN 0 #19 4 704
TW 0 #20 88 4,523
HT Girls 0 #21 3 950
CR 0 #22 192 5,526
NA 0 #22 12 2,537
JM Girls 0 #23 519 7,507
SG Girls 0 #24 2,499 18,916
ET Boys 0 #27 1 678
TW Girls 0 #29 497 8,139
BN 0 #30 3 2,297
MO 0 #30 23 2,706
HN Girls 0 #31 8 884
BI Girls 0 #32 2 726
MT 0 #32 12 1,767
NG Girls 0 #32 8,536 15,093
MV Girls 0 #34 2 2,021
CR Girls 0 #36 2,142 11,342
ID 0 #38 2 2,238
JM 0 #42 46 3,714
PR 0 #42 14 1,497
CN 0 #44 42 3,857
GH Girls 0 #44 1,246 6,973
PR Girls 0 #44 158 3,171
Austria Girls 2004 #46 155 59
LU 0 #46 21 2,830
SG 0 #46 311 11,010
BN Girls 0 #51 57 5,459
Germany Girls 0 #53 8,438 4,949
CM 0 #54 3 2,592
CY 0 #54 7 1,632
MT Girls 0 #56 107 3,773
PA Girls 0 #58 1,178 9,861
NG 0 #62 250 5,926
CN Girls 0 #63 658 8,829
PA 0 #63 69 3,797
QA 0 #67 34 7,011
QA Girls 0 #68 350 15,378
IN 0 #69 3 2,963
JP 0 #71 7 4,057
GT Girls 0 #72 1,187 7,500
EC Girls 0 #73 252 3,650
AF 0 #74 3 1,883
Austria Girls 0 #76 1,179 1,885
GH 0 #76 233 5,396
AO 0 #77 1 2,729
MO Girls 0 #77 216 7,056
HK Girls 0 #78 2,013 16,104
SI 0 #80 1 1,612
BW Girls 0 #81 75 4,216
CO Girls 0 #81 13,584 16,140
ID Girls 0 #83 16 3,319
NA Girls 0 #83 172 7,146
KW Girls 0 #86 711 19,177
AE Girls 0 #87 807 20,968
EC 0 #87 29 2,502
LU Girls 0 #87 113 4,850
MY Girls 0 #90 3,226 24,821
AF Girls 0 #94 1 2,402
KZ 0 #94 1 1,452
OM 0 #98 19 6,215
AE 0 #99 79 10,220
Germany 0 #99 649 2,542
CY Girls 0 #100 22 3,755
KW 0 #100 17 5,216
ZA Girls 0 #103 4,959 25,928
HU 0 #107 9 1,675
Austria 0 #111 113 850
MU 0 #111 26 3,613
MY 0 #112 251 12,352
MU Girls 0 #114 315 8,539
CO 0 #115 1,020 7,768
Norway Girls 2020 #119 4 444
HK 0 #119 312 8,483
NL Girls 0 #129 3,141 5,933
ZA 0 #130 369 14,421
Switzerland Girls 2024 #132 4 1,786
CL Girls 0 #132 3,541 14,098
IQ 0 #132 2 3,533
GR 0 #134 2 3,911
RS Girls 0 #136 2 1,651
JO 0 #137 4 2,158
EE Girls 0 #138 5 1,888
Spain Girls 0 #139 5,052 5,561
OM Girls 0 #141 286 15,987
BW Boys 0 #153 2 4,685
HU Girls 0 #153 76 3,308
UY 0 #153 25 2,477
GT 0 #160 168 5,948
Sweden Girls 2022 #164 16 1,568
CL 0 #164 355 6,867
AR 0 #166 21 2,915
PE Girls 0 #170 2,901 14,861
HU Boys 0 #173 2 3,954
SI Girls 0 #175 3 2,769
JP Girls 0 #176 70 6,592
MX Girls 0 #176 5,502 17,781
RU 0 #176 14 3,641
CZ 0 #179 8 3,154
MX 0 #182 271 8,339
AO Girls 0 #184 26 4,575
DK 0 #187 17 5,198
NL 0 #187 235 2,481
Belgium Girls 2008 #189 23 396
UY Girls 0 #190 565 6,731
PE 0 #193 120 6,350
PS 0 #196 23 5,692
DK Girls 0 #197 129 7,429
LT Girls 0 #197 4 1,904
SA Girls 0 #204 1,226 25,931
GR Girls 0 #210 33 6,293
PL 0 #211 2 2,600
AL Girls 0 #213 10 4,141
IT Girls 0 #215 9,116 9,415
SA 0 #223 73 10,560
Spain 0 #224 282 2,326
IR 0 #225 7 4,221
PT 0 #227 20 4,161
BG Girls 0 #228 4 3,559
BD 0 #234 8 5,992
MO Boys 0 #234 1 5,842
IL 0 #235 40 6,291
BR Girls 0 #237 1,907 12,708
EC Boys 0 #242 5 3,322
Canada Girls 2024 #246 40 2,795
AO Boys 0 #249 1 5,568
NA Boys 0 #252 2 6,830
BR 0 #254 93 5,969
TW Boys 0 #254 3 7,111
Finland Girls 0 #269 135 1,368
GR Boys 0 #273 1 6,912
AF Boys 0 #274 1 3,535
CZ Girls 0 #284 59 5,378
JO Girls 0 #284 42 7,570
PT Girls 0 #286 185 7,952
Finland 0 #287 21 830
JM Boys 0 #287 7 6,876
Canada Boys 1994 #288 7 1,673
HR Girls 0 #288 7 3,687
KZ Girls 0 #305 16 5,862
LB 0 #308 460 13,263
BD Girls 0 #313 74 8,413
AR Girls 0 #317 382 8,289
GH Boys 0 #319 27 8,138
PL Girls 0 #319 36 5,096
SD Girls 0 #321 25 7,678
BO Girls 0 #325 354 9,488
CN Boys 0 #325 7 9,639
DK Boys 0 #332 1 7,401
IT 0 #332 606 4,183
CM Girls 0 #344 206 11,671
BO 0 #345 37 6,868
BH 0 #359 197 17,937
MU Boys 0 #361 9 8,477
PH Boys 0 #365 19 11,440
YE 0 #367 15 8,639
RU Girls 0 #368 134 11,913
PS Girls 0 #369 161 10,981
Finland Girls 2026 #377 631 3,895
France Girls 2021 #385 21 3,185
EG 0 #387 14 6,387
JO Boys 0 #389 1 7,057
UY Boys 0 #413 1 5,922
IL Girls 0 #418 208 11,648
LY 0 #439 97 12,703
United States Girls 2024 #443 552 8,487
IQ Girls 0 #447 58 11,303
GT Boys 0 #455 20 7,625
SD Boys 0 #464 3 10,523
IR Girls 0 #472 59 8,334
PA Boys 0 #472 10 9,305
CR Boys 0 #475 13 10,188
AR Boys 0 #481 3 7,628
RU Boys 0 #485 21 12,621
IN Girls 0 #495 137 13,121
HK Boys 0 #512 16 12,905
PS Boys 0 #558 4 10,655
CM Boys 0 #567 9 12,054
BD Boys 0 #601 5 10,045
BO Boys 0 #619 4 9,244
IL Boys 0 #624 2 10,983
CL Boys 0 #647 19 13,390
IQ Boys 0 #658 10 13,071
SG Boys 0 #688 10 17,960
SY 0 #695 34 11,684
QA Boys 0 #698 10 18,093
BR Boys 0 #728 24 12,213
KW Boys 0 #736 34 18,755
TN 0 #765 65 13,765
CO Boys 0 #806 115 15,656
NG Boys 0 #820 132 16,906
EG Girls 0 #841 119 14,742
PE Boys 0 #846 33 14,506
OM Boys 0 #854 28 17,948
United States Boys 2016 #892 6 7,365
Spain Boys 0 #901 30 5,610
MX Boys 0 #915 68 16,355
EG Boys 0 #923 3 15,035
NL Boys 0 #934 18 5,873
Germany Boys 0 #940 13 5,697
MA 0 #961 168 20,986
IN Boys 0 #1,032 8 16,750
DZ 0 #1,036 141 20,130
AE Boys 0 #1,070 23 22,615
MY Boys 0 #1,077 35 25,439
TR 0 #1,081 131 19,440
ZA Boys 0 #1,090 89 25,619
IT Boys 0 #1,381 91 10,046
SA Boys 0 #1,529 86 28,008

Jennifer is popular in 95 countries — most recent births per country:

France
Ireland
Norway
Scotland, United Kingdom
Canada

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People also ask about Jennifer

Jennifer is predominantly a girl's name.
Jennifer is a 3 syllable name, pronounced /ˈdʒɛnɪfər/ (JEN-ih-fer); UK: /ˈdʒɛnɪfə/.
Common nicknames and spelling variations include Jen, Jenny, Jennie, Jenni, Jennifer and Jenifer.
Across languages, Jennifer has these equivalents: Gwenhwyfar (Welsh), Guinevere (English/Old French), Ginevra (Italian, sometimes equated).
Yes, very popular — Jennifer ranked #1 in Ireland in 2025, and appears in official birth registries across 13 countries.
Jennifer ranks highest in Ireland (#1 in 2025).
Jennifer's popularity is holding steady. It moved from #1 in 2015 to #1 in 2025 in Ireland.
Yes — 16 notable people named Jennifer are in our database, including Jennifer Love Hewitt (Actor), Jennifer Hudson (Actor|musician), Jennifer Jones (Actor).
Yes — at least 7 celebrity couples have chosen Jennifer for their child, including Sandra Knight and Jack Nicholson.