Girls' name · peaked in 1974
Jennifer name popularity since 1925
1,476,495 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Jennifer. Half of them were born in 1978 or earlier, so the typical Jennifer is about 48 years old in 2026. Jennifer peaked in 1974 as the #1 name for girls, and it ranked #586 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 1,476,495
- Named Jennifer, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #586
- for girls in 2025 (501 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.7% girls
- 1,471,658 girls · 4,837 boys
- Most popular in
- New Hampshire
- 1.45× its national share
Peak year is the year Jennifer made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Jennifer births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 1972. Measured as a share of all babies, Jennifer peaked in 1974.
- Fastest rise: Between 1941 and 1946, Jennifer became 9.8× more common, from 1 in 8,880 baby girls to 1 in 907.
- Steepest fall: Between 1984 and 1989, its share of baby girls fell by 57%, from 1 in 33 to 1 in 77.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Jennifer's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Jennifer.
Decade by decade
Babies named Jennifer in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 47 | 0 | – |
| 1930s | 368 | 0 | #1,190 |
| 1940s | 10,685 | 6 | #200 |
| 1950s | 43,075 | 84 | #104 |
| 1960s | 164,413 | 444 | #20 |
| 1970s | 581,729 | 1,920 | #1 |
| 1980s | 440,914 | 1,683 | #3 |
| 1990s | 148,041 | 486 | #18 |
| 2000s | 63,509 | 185 | #42 |
| 2010s | 15,253 | 29 | #251 |
| 2020–25 | 3,624 | 0 | #586 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
51.1% of babies named Jennifer from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen X years (1965–1980). The full split by generation:
Where Jennifer is most popular
The index compares Jennifer's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Jennifer.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| New Hampshire | 1.45× | 6,800 |
| Wyoming | 1.35× | 2,714 |
| Alaska | 1.34× | 2,961 |
| Delaware | 1.32× | 4,073 |
| Vermont | 1.29× | 3,200 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Jennifer and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Jennifer (this page) | 1,471,658 | 1974 |
| Jenifer | 25,551 | 1974 |
| Jeniffer | 3,656 | 1999 |
| Jenniffer | 2,878 | 1973 |
| Jennyfer | 1,809 | 2002 |
| Jennefer | 1,498 | 1974 |
| Jennafer | 1,080 | 1985 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Jennifer's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Jennifer.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Jennifer (1974).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data