Pronunciation | /ˈdʒɛnɪfər/ |
---|---|
Gender | Female |
Origin | |
Language(s) | Cornish |
Meaning | "Fair One", "White Wave" |
Region of origin | Cornwall |
Other names | |
Alternative spelling | Jenifer, Yenifer (Spanish) |
Nickname(s) | Yennu, Jen, Jenn, Jenna, Jenni, Jenny |
Related names | Guinevere, Gwenhwyfar, Gwenore, Ginevra |
Popularity | see popular names |
Jennifer, also spelled Jenifer or Jenefer, is a feminine given name, the Cornish form of Guinevere, [1] that became popular in the English-speaking world in the 20th century.
"Jennifer" may mean "the fair one" (from Proto-Celtic "Windo-*sēbro" (cognate with Old Irish síabar "a spectre, phantom, supernatural being [usually in pejorative sense]"). A Cornish form, it is cognate with the Welsh form Gwenhwyfar and with the Old Irish Findabair. [2] Despite the name's similarity to the Old English words "jenefer," "genefer," and "jinifer," these appear to be derived from the juniper plant used to flavor the beverage. [3]
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. [1] 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 . [4] However, United Kingdom 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, but it thereafter rose in popularity somewhat, peaking at No. 11 in 1984. [5] Jennifer remained in the top 100 in England and Wales until 2005. [6] It was ranked No. 166 in 2009. [5]
In the United States, the name Jennifer first entered the annual government-derived list of the 1,000 most commonly used names for newborn baby girls in 1938, when it ranked at No. 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, possibly due to its use in the movie Love Story. [7] [8] Jennifer was the single most popular name for newborn girls in the United States every year from 1970 to 1984, inclusive. [9] [10] It dropped out of the top 10 in the United States in 1992 and out of the top 100 in 2009. It has remained among the top 1,000 names in use for American girls and, as of 2021, was ranked in 492nd position on the Social Security Administration’s list of most used names for newborn girls. It has also been well used in other European and North American countries. [11]
Alexandra is a female given name of Greek origin. It is the first attested form of its variants, including Alexander. Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb ἀλέξειν and ἀνήρ. Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "protector of man". The name Alexandra was one of the epithets given to the Greek goddess Hera and as such is usually taken to mean "one who comes to save warriors". The earliest attested form of the name is the Mycenaean Greek 𐀀𐀩𐀏𐀭𐀅𐀨, written in the Linear B syllabic script. Alexandra and its masculine equivalent, Alexander, are both common names in Greece as well as countries where Germanic, Romance, and Slavic languages are spoken.
Amanda is a Latin feminine gerundive name meaning, literally, "she who must be loved". Other translations, with similar meaning, could be "deserving to be loved," "worthy of love," or "loved very much by everyone." Its diminutive form includes Mandy, Manda and Amy. It is common in countries where Germanic and Romance languages are spoken.
Wong is the Jyutping, Yale and Hong Kong romanization of the Chinese surnames Huang and Wang, two ubiquitous Chinese surnames; Wang, another common Chinese surname; and a host of other rare Chinese surnames, including Heng, Hong, Hong, and Hong
Maggie or Maggy is a common short form of the name Magdalena, Magnolia, Margaret, Marigold.
Renée is a French feminine given name and surname.
Sarah is a common feminine given name of Hebrew origin. It derives its popularity from the biblical matriarch Sarah, the wife of Abraham and a major figure in the Abrahamic religions. It is a consistently popular given name across Europe, North America, and the Middle East — being commonly used as a female first name by Jews, Muslims, and Christians alike, and remaining popular also among non-religious members of cultures influenced by these religions.
Megan is a Welsh feminine given name, originally a diminutive form of Margaret. Margaret is from the Greek μαργαρίτης (margarítēs), Latin margarīta, "pearl". Megan is one of the most popular Welsh-language names for women in Wales and England, and is commonly truncated to Meg.
Ari is a given name in many languages and cultures, for both men and women. It also may be a nickname for a wide variety of unrelated names.
Paul is a common Latin masculine given name in countries and ethnicities with a Christian heritage and, beyond Europe, in Christian religious communities throughout the world. Paul – or its variations – can be a given name or surname.
Nancy is an English language given name for women. The name Nancy was originally a diminutive form of Annis, a medieval English vernacular form of Agnes. In some English dialects, "mine" was used instead of "my" and "Mine Ancy" eventually became Nancy. The name was also later used as an English diminutive of Anne or Ann. It has been used as an independent name since the 18th century. In some instances it replaced variant Nanny, which was associated with the stereotype of a common, promiscuous woman from the 1600s onward. Spelling variants in use include Nancea, Nancee, Nancey, Nanci, Nancie, Nancsi, Nancye, Nanncey, Nanncy, Nansee, and Nansi. Similar names include Nan, Nance, Nanette, and Nannie.
Debra is a feminine given name.
Rachel, meaning "ewe", is a feminine given name of Hebrew origin, popularized by the biblical figure Rachel, the wife of Israelite patriarch Jacob.
Monica is a female given name with many variant forms, including Mónica, Mônica, Monique (French), Monika, Moonika (Estonia), and Mónika (Hungarian).
Molly is a diminutive of the feminine name Mary that, like other English diminutives in use since the Middle Ages, substituted l for r. English surnames such as Moll, Mollett, and Mollison are derived from Molly. Molly has also been used as a diminutive of Margaret and Martha since the 1700s and as an independent name since at least 1720. The name was more popular in the United States than elsewhere in the Anglosphere in the 1800s due to usage by Irish-American families and by Jewish American families who used Molly as an English version of Hebrew names such as Miriam and Malka. Its popularity with Americans was also influenced by stories about Molly Pitcher, a heroine of the American Revolutionary War.
Daisy is a feminine given name. The flower name comes from the Old English word dægeseage, meaning "day's eye". The name Daisy is therefore ultimately derived from this source. Daisy is also a nickname for Margaret because Marguerite, the French version of the latter name, is also a French name for the oxeye daisy.
Janet is a feminine given name meaning "God is gracious" or "gift from God". It is the feminine form of John. It is a variation of the French proper noun Jeannette, Spanish proper noun Juanita, Russian Жанет (Zhanet), Circassian Джэнэт (Dzhenet), and Hungarian Zsanett. It is also the diminutive of Jeanne or Jane.
Janice is a modern feminine given name, an extended version of Jane, an English feminine form of John which is itself derived from the Hebrew Yohanan, meaning or Yehohanan. The name Janice was first used by American author Paul Leicester Ford for the heroine of the 1899 novel Janice Meredith. Janice Meredith was a 1924 silent film based on the novel by Ford and the 1900 stage play A Colonial Girl. Janis is a spelling variant.
Anand is a name of Indian origin, derived from the Sanskrit abstract noun आनन्द (ānanda), which means happiness or joy.
Tracy, as a British personal name, was originally adopted from Norman surnames such as those of the family de Tracy or de Trasci from Tracy-Bocage in Normandy, France. Derived from the Gaulish male name Draccios, or Latin Thracius, and the well-identified Celtic suffix -āko, such Norman surnames themselves sprung from several Tracy place-names in France.