girl's name
Jeanette
juh-NET
- Origin French
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 8
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 165,042
Ireland
#360
1992 births
Jeanette means God is gracious, a French double diminutive of Jeanne. It charts in exactly one of the six markets we track — the United States at 2406th — despite being a wholly French formation.
- Jeanette is a name of French origin.
- Peaked in 1939, when 2,902 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 44,205 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Jeanette over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 767 |
| 1890s | 1,503 |
| 1900s | 2,438 |
| 1910s | 11,145 |
| 1920s | 19,833 |
| 1930s | 24,870 |
| 1940s | 24,809 |
| 1950s | 24,031 |
| 1960s | 22,154 |
| 1970s | 13,040 |
| 1980s | 10,011 |
| 1990s | 6,071 |
| 2000s | 1,937 |
| 2010s | 965 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 403 |
What Jeanette means
Jeanette means God is gracious, carried from Jeanne and so from John. The Hebrew states something about God rather than describing the child who carries it.
Where Jeanette comes from
Jeanette is a French diminutive of Jeanne, the feminine of Jean, from the Hebrew Yochanan — God is gracious. The -ette ending is a productive French diminutive that also gave Josette, Georgette, Colette and Annette, and English borrowed the pattern wholesale in the twentieth century without always borrowing the underlying names. Joan of Arc's own name in her lifetime was Jehanne, and she signed it Jehanne when she could write at all, so the whole family points back to her indirectly.
Jeanette in use
Jeanette peaked in the United States in 1939, when 2,902 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It charts in exactly one of the six markets we track, at 2406th in the United States on 75 births, across 165,042 lifetime births. A French formation surviving only in American use is a pattern this group shows twice, with Josette doing the same thing.
How popular is Jeanette?
In 2025, Jeanette was given to 75 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Jeanette is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Jeanette
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Jeanette also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Jeanette over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Jeanette
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Jeanette in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Jeanette
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Jeanette — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Jeanette
What does the name Jeanette mean?
God is gracious, carried from Jeanne and so from John.
Is Jeanette related to Janet?
Yes — Janet is the Scottish diminutive of the same name, formed independently.
What does the -ette ending do?
It is a French diminutive, the same one in Josette, Georgette, Colette and Annette.
How popular is Jeanette?
2406th in the United States, the only market where it charts.
Is Jeanette a girl's or a boy's name?
Jeanette is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Jeanette?
Jeanette has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Jeanette?
Jeanette is usually shortened to Jean and Nettie.
Is Jeanette a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Jeanette currently ranks #2,406 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.