Jenny

Jenny: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning: “fair one; white shadow”
Origin: English
Say it: JEN-ee · 2 syllables
Used for: Girls

Diminutive of Jennifer or sometimes Jane. Jennifer comes from Cornish/Welsh Guinevere, while Jane comes from Hebrew Yohanan; the exact source depends on the bearer.

English names American names Names meaning pure Names meaning beauty Classic names Short names

How popular is Jenny?

202449.0 per million US babies

Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Compare with another name

Babies named Jenny in 2024162

2024 rank#1,386 girls

Peak year1977

Total US babies since 188092,561

Jenny is fading: recent use is about 52% of its level ten years before.

Names like Jenny

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

Jenniwhite shadow, white wave · Welsh
Oliviaolive tree · English
Evelyndesired; little bird · English
Harperharp player · English
Violetviolet flower · English
Hazelhazel tree · English
Ellieshort form of names ending in -el or -ella · English
Lilylily flower · English

Jenny questions

What does the name Jenny mean?

Jenny means "fair one; white shadow". It comes from English. Diminutive of Jennifer or sometimes Jane. Jennifer comes from Cornish/Welsh Guinevere, while Jane comes from Hebrew Yohanan; the exact source depends on the bearer.

Is Jenny a boy or girl name?

Jenny is mainly a girl's name in US records (99% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Jenny?

162 US babies were named Jenny in 2024. Its peak year was 1977.

How do you pronounce Jenny?

Jenny is usually pronounced JEN-ee.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.