Jenny
Jenny was the 1503rd most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 142 babies. Its best year was 1977, when it ranked 108th with 2,688 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 536 places. More babies were named Jenny in the 1970s than in any other decade.
Meaning pet form of Janet or Jennifer · English, Hebrew, Welsh
Say it JEN-ee /ˈdʒɛni/
- Rank in 2025
- #1,503 girls, down 75 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 142girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19772,688 babies
- Total since 1880
- 92,706babies recorded
What does the name Jenny mean?
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)
Jenny popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 605 since 1925.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,503 | 142 |
| 2020 | #1,428 | 153 |
| 2010 | #787 | 350 |
| 2000 | #361 | 828 |
| 1990 | #214 | 1,337 |
| 1980 | #117 | 2,645 |
| 1970 | #224 | 1,409 |
| 1960 | #235 | 1,351 |
| 1950 | #322 | 569 |
| 1940 | #442 | 238 |
| 1930 | #438 | 235 |
| 1920 | #507 | 188 |
| 1910 | #669 | 41 |
| 1900 | #546 | 39 |
| 1890 | #655 | 17 |
| 1880 | #480 | 13 |
How popular is Jenny, counting every spelling?
Jenny is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #1,013 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #1,503 for Jenny 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 Jenny?
142 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Jenny (0.04 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Jenny 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 59 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Jenny.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Jenny?
About 79,900 people born in the US named Jenny are alive today, with a median age of 47; half are between 36 and 56. That makes Jenny 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.
Jenny by state
How common Jenny was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Washington (2.0×). In 32 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 Jenny: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Jenny, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Jenny · Sibling names for Jenny
Jenny is also a nickname for Jane and Jennifer.
Questions about the name Jenny
What does Jenny mean?
Jenny means “pet form of Janet or Jennifer” (English, Hebrew, Welsh origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Jenny?
Jenny was the 1503rd most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 142 babies. Its best year was 1977, when it ranked 108th with 2,688 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 536 places. More babies were named Jenny in the 1970s than in any other decade.
Is Jenny a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Jenny in the US.
Where is Jenny most popular?
In 2021–2025, Jenny was most common in Washington (0.19 per 1,000 girls), followed by Tennessee and California.