Girl Names baby nameJennifer

What does the name Jennifer mean?

The different meanings of the name Jennifer are:
  • American meaning: White wave
  • Celtic - Gaelic meaning: White wave
  • Welsh meaning: Fair and soft
The meaning of the name “Jennifer” is different in several languages, countries and cultures and has more than one possibly same or different meanings available.

Additional information: Jennifer is taken from a Cornish form of the Welsh name Gwenhwyfar. This was largely a regional name. It became widespread outside of Cornwall since the beginning of the 20th century, after it was taken up in George Bernard Shaw's play 'The Doctor's Dilemma' (1906). Thus it became a popular first name for girls in English-speaking countries during the 20th century.

The name is a Cornish derivation of Guinevere, which is taken from the Welsh word Gwenhwyfar which means "white enchantress" or "the fair one".

The name is borne by popular celebrities like Jennifer Aniston - American actress, Jennifer Lopez - American singer/actress , Jennifer Love Hewitt - American actress, star player Jennifer Kessy and athlete Jennifer Capriati to name a few.

The year when the name Jennifer was most prevalent was 2001. It joined the US top 1000 names in 1938. For 2014, the number of births with name Jennifer represented 0.078 percent of total female births in U.S for the year. Since the beginning in 1970, Jennifer was the favorite female baby name in the U.S., a position it held for straight 14 years. In 2006 it was the 51st most popular name in America.

Jennifer Ingrum is a character which appeared as a bridesmaid and a roommate in ‘Mostly True Stories: Urban Legends Revealed’, an American docudrama inspired by popular regional stories.

Other cool spellings for the name are Jenifer, Yenifer, Gennyphir, Gennifer, Ginnifer, Jennipher, and Genifer.

Trendy short nicknames for it are Jen, Jena, Jenelle, Jenn, Jennie, Jenny, Jenae, Jenessa, Jeni, Jenna, Jenni, Jenny. Jennifers’ counterparts in other countries are named as Guenevere, Guinevere, Jenifer in Cornish, Guenièvre in French, Ginevra in Italian, and Gwenhwyfar as per Welsh Mythology.