girl's name
Jennie
JEN-ee
- Origin Scottish
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 129,027
Northern Ireland
#416
2006 births
Jennie began as a Scottish pet form of Jean and only later attached to Jennifer, which is a Cornish name with no connection to it. Our data marks it stable, at 2303rd in the United States.
- Jennie is a name of Scottish origin.
- Peaked in 1917, when 3,119 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 41,967 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Jennie 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 | 10,241 |
| 1890s | 11,915 |
| 1900s | 10,033 |
| 1910s | 23,136 |
| 1920s | 22,711 |
| 1930s | 9,568 |
| 1940s | 7,046 |
| 1950s | 7,598 |
| 1960s | 5,994 |
| 1970s | 7,771 |
| 1980s | 6,496 |
| 1990s | 2,836 |
| 2000s | 1,250 |
| 2010s | 607 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 458 |
What Jennie means
Jennie means God is gracious if taken from Jean and Jane, or white ghost if taken from Jennifer. The two parent names are entirely unrelated and the meanings share nothing.
Where Jennie comes from
Jennie is a Scottish diminutive of Jean, the Scots form of Jane, from the Hebrew Yochanan — God is gracious. It predates any association with Jennifer, which is the Cornish Guinevere, from the Welsh Gwenhwyfar — gwen, white or fair, joined to an element meaning a phantom or spirit. Jennifer was almost unknown outside Cornwall before 1900, so a Jennie born in the nineteenth century is a Jean and one born in the twentieth is more likely a Jennifer.
Jennie in use
Jennie peaked in the United States in 1917, when 3,119 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It charts in four of the seven markets we track — 1875th in Canada, 2047th in France on 15 births, 2303rd in the United States on 79 and 2847th in England and Wales on 9 — across 129,027 lifetime births. Stable at more than a century past its peak is a strong reading.
How popular is Jennie?
In 2025, Jennie was given to 79 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Jennie 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 Jennie
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Jennie also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Jennie over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Jennie 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 Jennie
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Jennie — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Jennie
What does the name Jennie mean?
God is gracious through Jean, or white ghost through Jennifer. The two are unrelated.
Is Jennie short for Jennifer?
Only recently. It began as a Scottish pet form of Jean, before Jennifer was used outside Cornwall.
What does Jennifer mean?
It is the Cornish Guinevere — gwen, white or fair, joined to an element meaning a phantom.
How popular is Jennie?
2303rd in the United States, and our data marks it stable.
Is Jennie a girl's or a boy's name?
Jennie is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Jennie?
Jennie has 2 syllables.
Is Jennie a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Jennie currently ranks #1,875 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.