Pronunciation /ˈdʒɛnᵻfər/ Word/name Cornish Region of origin Cornwall | Gender Feminine Meaning "white one" Nickname(s) Jen, Jenny | |
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Jennifer is a feminine given name, a Cornish form of Guinevere/Gwenhwyfar adopted into the English language during the 20th century.
"Jennifer" may mean "white enchantress" or "the fair one" (from Proto-Celtic *Windo-seibrā "white phantom"). A Cornish form, it is cognate with the Welsh form Gwenhwyfar and with the Old Irish Findabair. Despite the name's similarity to the Old English words jenefer, genefer and jinifer, all of which were variants of Juniper used to describe the juniper tree, there is no evidence that it comes from these.
It became a common first name for females in English-speaking countries during the 20th century. The name Jennifer has been in use since the 18th century. Before 1906 the name was fairly uncommon, but it gained some recognition after George Bernard Shaw used it for the main female character in The Doctor's Dilemma. However, UK government statistics (covering England and Wales) only show the name first entering the top 100 most commonly used names for baby girls in 1934 – 28 years after the play was first staged. It thereafter rose in popularity somewhat, peaking at #11 in 1984. Jennifer remained in the top 100 in England and Wales until 2005. It was ranked #166 in 2009.
In the US, the name Jennifer first entered the annual government-derived list of the 1000 most commonly used names for newborn baby girls in 1938, when it ranked at #987. Thereafter, the name steadily gained popularity, entering the top 100 most commonly given girls names in 1956, and breaking through into the top 10 in 1966. It gained even more popularity in the 1970s—Jennifer was the single most popular name for newborn American girls every single year from 1970 to 1984, inclusive. It dropped out of the top 10 in the US in 1992, and out of the top 100 in 2009.