Jennie
Jennie was the 2309th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 79 babies. Its best year was 1880, when it ranked 24th; the most babies were born in 1917 (3,109). Over the last ten years it has moved up 152 places. More babies were named Jennie in the 1910s than in any other decade.
Meaning (as Jenny) pet form of Janet or Jennifer · English, Hebrew, Welsh
- Rank in 2025
- #2,309 girls, up 491 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 79girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19173,109 babies
- Total since 1880
- 127,660babies recorded
What does the name Jennie mean?
Jennie is a spelling of Jenny, pronounced the same way, so it shares Jenny's meaning and origin.
Jenny was historically a pet form of Janet and Jane, and now more often of Jennifer, as Wiktionary notes. Jane and Janet come from Johanna, the feminine of John (Hebrew 'YHWH is gracious'); Jennifer is the Cornish form of Guinevere, from Welsh gwen 'white, fair'. The Swedish singer Jenny Lind's American tour of 1850 made the name very popular.
יוֹחָנָן (Yoḥanan) (Biblical Hebrew, “YHWH is gracious”)gwen (Welsh, “white, fair”)
How sure is this? Well established. Which full name a Jenny comes from varies.
Related names: Jennifer, Jane, Janet, Jen, Jenna.
See also: English names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Jenny', Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Joan', DMNES (Durham University)
Jennie popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 479 since 1880.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #2,309 | 79 |
| 2020 | #2,800 | 59 |
| 2010 | #2,525 | 73 |
| 2000 | #1,131 | 181 |
| 1990 | #586 | 394 |
| 1980 | #282 | 875 |
| 1970 | #391 | 600 |
| 1960 | #332 | 807 |
| 1950 | #288 | 735 |
| 1940 | #247 | 662 |
| 1930 | #152 | 1,352 |
| 1920 | #97 | 2,808 |
| 1910 | #81 | 1,183 |
| 1900 | #64 | 1,204 |
| 1890 | #41 | 1,259 |
| 1880 | #24 | 793 |
How popular is Jennie, counting every spelling?
Jennie is a spelling of Jenny, a name family that ranked #1,013 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #2,309 for Jennie on its own. Together these spellings went to 234 girls in 2025.
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Jennie?
79 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Jennie (0.02 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Jennie born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 106 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Jennie.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Jennie?
About 35,900 people born in the US named Jennie are alive today, with a median age of 55; half are between 44 and 71. That makes Jennie mostly worn by adults in their thirties to fifties.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Jennie by state
How common Jennie was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in California (2.5×). In 43 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Jennie: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Jennie, they share its era and feel.
Questions about the name Jennie
What does Jennie mean?
Jennie is a spelling of Jenny, which means “pet form of Janet or Jennifer” (English, Hebrew, Welsh origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Jennie?
Jennie was the 2309th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 79 babies. Its best year was 1880, when it ranked 24th; the most babies were born in 1917 (3,109). Over the last ten years it has moved up 152 places. More babies were named Jennie in the 1910s than in any other decade.
Is Jennie a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Jennie in the US.
Where is Jennie most popular?
In 2021–2025, Jennie was most common in California (0.12 per 1,000 girls), followed by Georgia and Texas.