Jennifer

Cornish variation of Welsh Guinevere

"white shadow, white wave"

Jennifer Origin and Meaning

The name Jennifer is a girl's name of Cornish origin meaning "white shadow, white wave".

Jennifer is the Cornish variation of Guinevere, which ultimately derived from the Welsh name Gwenhwyfar. It has been in use in the English-speaking world since the 18th century but came to prominence in the 20th. Playwright George Bernard Shaw chose Jennifer for the name of his leading lady in his play The Doctor’s Dilemma, which drew more attention to the name.

Jennifer was the top name of the 1970s, when there were close to 800,000 Jennifers born: No wonder there are now online support groups for grown-up Jens who have suffered a lack of personal identity. These days Jennifer has fallen out of the Top 100 though it's forever a pretty-sounding name.

Many modern parents opt for Jenna over Jennifer, though Jenna too is losing steam. Jenny and Jennie are forever appealing if not exactly stylish short forms; Jenifer is an alternate spelling.

One name that's taking over where Jennifer left off is Genevieve. Another idea for Jennifer lovers in search of an alternative: the perennially appealing Jane. Or even the original Welsh Guinevere.

Bill and Melinda Gates are the parents of a Jennifer. Wonder how she feels with a sister named Phoebe and a brother called Rory?

Jennifer Rank in US Top 1000

# 517 in the US

Jennifer Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 283 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Jennifer

• 517 US 2023
• 283 Nameberry 2025
• 572 England 2023
• 380 Germany 2016
• 114 Mexico 2021

20 Names Similar to Jennifer

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Jennifer.

• Stephanie
• Amanda
• Melissa
• Jessica
• Danielle
• Megan
• Angela
• Michelle
• Aubreyanna
• Christine
• Lisa
• Nicole
• Rechell
• Tiffany
• Kathryn
• Sher
• Christina
• Sara
• Samya
• Julie

Famous People Named Jennifer

• Jennifer Jones (born Phylis Lee Isley) American actress
• Jennifer Shrader Lawrence American Actress
• Jennifer Maria Capriati American tennis player
• Jennifer Joanna Aniston American actress
• Jennifer Lynn Lopez American singer/actress
• Jennifer Love Hewitt American actress
• Jennifer Kate Hudson American singer/actress
• Jennifer J. Arroyo bassist for Canadian band Kittie
• Jennifer Anne Garner American actress
• Jennifer Lynn Connelly American actress
• Jennifer Marie Morrison American actress
• Jennifer Grey American actress
• Jennifer Jason Leigh (born Jennifer Leigh Morrow) American actress
• Jennifer Yvette Holliday, American actress/singer
• Jennifer Tilly (born Jennifer Ellen Chan) American actress
• Jennifer Lindsay Stone American actress
• Jennifer Paige American singer,songwriter
• Jennifer Beals American actress
• Jennifer Jane Saunders English actress and comedienne of duo French & Saunders
• Jennifer Esposito American actress
• Jennifer Odessa Nettles lead singer of American country band Sugarland
• Jennifer Coolidge American actress/comedienne
• Jennifer Nicole Freeman American actress
• Jennifer Kate Stitt Davidson American former vice president of The Cartoon Network
• Jennifer Lesley Ellison English actress, model and singer
• Jennifer Christina Finnigan Canadian actress
• Jennifer Kathleen Hanson American country music singer,songwriter
• Jennifer Johnston Irish novelist
• Jennifer Michelle Lee American film director
• Jennifer Lynn Knapp American,Australian folk rock singer
• Jennifer J. Lavoie American model and actress
• Jennifer Ann Lien American actress
• Jennifer Chambers Lynch American film director
• Jennifer Leann Carpenter American actress
• Jennifer "Kitty" Dunn drummer of the American rock band Mindless Self Indulgence
• Jennifer Shu Chinese actress
• Jennifer Lee Worth British midwife and author of "Call the Midwife"
• Jasmine Lucilla Elizabeth Jennifer van den Bogaerde aka Birdy English singer, songwriter
• Jennifer Patricia 'Jen' Beattie Scottish football player
• Jennifer Young (b. 1964) daughter of actor Gig Young
• Jennifer Grant (b. 1966) daughter of actor Cary Grant
• Jennifer Chambers Lynch (b. 1968) director; daughter of director David Lynch
• Jennifer Adamson (b. 1971) daughter of actor Kit Culkin; half,sister of Macaulay Culkin
• Jennifer Katharine Gates (b. 1996) daughter of Microsoft's Bill and Melinda Gates
• Jennifer Jane Brown (b. 2001) late daughter of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown
• Jennifer Danielle Duggar (b. 2007) 17th child of reality TV's Duggar family
• Jennifer Lee Wiggins American actress , of Chinese & Irish/English descent

The name Jennifer in Pop Culture

• Jennifer Carson character on Australian TV series "Carson's Law"
• Jennifer "Jen" Lindley character on TV's "Dawson's Creek"
• Jennifer Tallulah Humphrey character on TV's "Gossip Girl"
• Jennifer "J" Robbins character on TV's "Into the Dark"
• Jennifer Check main character in 2009 film "Jennifer's Body"
• Jennifer Kale sorceress in Marvel Comics
• Jennifer Parker character in the "Back to the Future" series
• Jennifer Keller character on TV's "Stargate Atlantis"
• Jennifer "J.J" Jareau character on TV's "Criminal Minds"
• Jennifer "Jenny Matrix" Mattheus character from YouTube series Video Game High School
• Miss Jennifer Honey nice teacher from book/movie "Matilda"
• Jennifer Dugan character in the movie "Spiderman 3"
• Jennifer Louis Dubedat's beautiful wife in the 1906 play "The Doctor's Dilemma" by G. Bernard Shaw; upon introduction, Dr. Ridgeon remarks, "That's a strange name." Jennifer answers, "Not in Cornwall."
• Jennifer Adams Townsend character from Yesterday's child, by Barbara Wood
• Jennifer "Jen" Scotts Pink Power Ranger on TV's Power Rangers Time Force
• Jennifer McMinamin character in the YouTube series "Most Popular Girls in School"
• "Jennifer " 1953 film
• "Jennifer Juniper " 1968 song by Donovan that sent this name to the top of the charts
• "Jennifer Ever " song by The Smashing Pumpkins
• Jennifer Adams main character in 'The Gray Wolves' series by Quinn Loftis
• Jennifer Pierce younger daughter of Jefferson Pierce aka Black Lightening

International Variations of the name Jennifer

• Genoveva Spanish
• Ginevra Italian
• Genoveffa Italian
• Genowefa Polish