Unisex name ★ peaked 1927

Jean

Gender Unisex · 95% girls Rank 2025 #2,130 Trend → Stable

Variant of Jeanne, from French Jeanne, from Old French Jehane, from Medieval Latin Johanna, variant of Latin Ioanna under influence from Latin Iōhannēs, from Koine Greek…

Rank 2025
#2,130
among girls · ↑295 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
264
named Jean · +2% vs 2024
How common
1 in 18,264
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1927
12,775 babies
All-time total
483,475
#74 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Jean popularity over time

483,475 babies have been named Jean since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
3.757.511.251518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 1,000 152 1,152 115 – #173
1890s 2,396 185 2,581 258 +124% #147
1900s 5,931 267 6,198 620 +140% #90
1910s 39,284 1,351 40,635 4,064 +556% #37
1920s 105,999 2,978 108,977 10,898 +168% #12
1930s 94,189 2,049 96,238 9,624 -12% #13
1940s 80,363 1,573 81,936 8,194 -15% #29
1950s 72,263 1,516 73,779 7,378 -10% #48
1960s 37,280 1,831 39,111 3,911 -47% #86
1970s 11,027 2,228 13,255 1,326 -66% #159
1980s 4,858 2,617 7,475 748 -44% #348
1990s 1,849 2,968 4,817 482 -36% #753
2000s 829 2,617 3,446 345 -28% #1,537
2010s 707 1,829 2,536 254 -26% #2,099
2020s (to 2025) 461 878 1,339 223 -12% #2,130

Where Jean is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 88 0.05 outside top 500
2027 88 0.06 outside top 500
2028 89 0.06 outside top 500
2029 89 0.06 outside top 500
2030 89 0.06 outside top 500

Where Jean is most popular

Girls named Jean per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.048 per 1,000. Strongest in California, Utah, and New York.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Jean born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
California 63 0.075 +58%
Utah 5 0.060 +26%
New York 23 0.058 +22%
Texas 35 0.044 -9%
Tennessee 5 0.032 -34%
North Carolina 7 0.031 -35%
Pennsylvania 6 0.025 -47%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Florida – – –
Georgia – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Illinois – – –
Indiana – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Michigan – – –
Minnesota – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Jersey – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Ohio – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Virginia – – –
Vermont – – –
Washington – – –
Wisconsin – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Jean

Jean is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #2,130 in 2025 with 88 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 483,475 American babies have been named Jean, about 95% girls and 5% boys, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 1927, when 12,775 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1920s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Jean stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Jean?

The median living Jean is about 72 years old; half are between 62 and 81. An estimated 209 thousand people named Jean are alive in the United States today.

median 72 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Jean year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 88 #2,130 176 #1,172
2024 75 #2,425 185 #1,142
2023 67 #2,631 152 #1,266
2022 73 #2,476 135 #1,385
2021 83 #2,241 108 #1,592
2020 75 #2,358 122 #1,420
2019 90 #2,099 143 #1,300
2018 76 #2,396 148 #1,248
2017 73 #2,474 162 #1,160
2016 75 #2,451 182 #1,083
2015 67 #2,665 154 #1,202
2014 77 #2,380 184 #1,066
2013 63 #2,741 185 #1,042
2012 59 #2,916 190 #1,027
2011 58 #2,966 209 #951
2010 69 #2,624 272 #800
2009 46 #3,535 210 #959
2008 61 #2,905 222 #921
2007 86 #2,264 241 #863
2006 73 #2,522 299 #722
2005 80 #2,268 242 #798
2004 77 #2,272 294 #687
2003 89 #2,023 267 #705
2002 87 #2,008 262 #695
2001 112 #1,634 288 #648
2000 118 #1,537 292 #629
1995 159 #1,115 291 #602
1990 265 #772 357 #522
1985 466 #461 250 #557
1980 682 #348 214 #590
1975 883 #272 193 #582
1970 2,112 #159 273 #491
1965 3,364 #112 199 #545
1960 5,639 #86 146 #646
1955 7,480 #60 151 #602
1950 7,432 #48 165 #520
1945 7,429 #38 156 #481
1940 8,063 #29 151 #470
1935 8,852 #18 195 #391
1930 11,986 #14 288 #325
1925 11,598 #14 303 #331
1920 7,714 #33 277 #357
1915 4,603 #48 162 #424
1910 1,246 #77 44 #400
1905 548 #115 22 #485
1900 473 #132 22 #499
1895 232 #177 19 #465
1890 160 #187 15 #498
1885 99 #189 17 #451
1880 59 #203 12 #546

Famous people named Jean

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Jean Reno Jean Reno French and Spanish actor (born 1948) Contemporary
  2. 2 Jean Simmons Jean Simmons British actress (1929–2010) Contemporary
  3. 3 Jean Baudrillard Jean Baudrillard French sociologist and philosopher (1929–2007) Contemporary
  4. 4 Jean Cocteau Jean Cocteau French writer and film director (1889–1963) 19th century
  5. 5 Jean Giraud Jean Giraud French comics author (1938–2012) Contemporary
  6. 6 Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius Finnish composer (1865–1957) 19th century
  7. 7 Jean Piaget Jean Piaget Swiss psychologist (1896–1980) 19th century
  8. 8 Jean Genet Jean Genet French novelist, playwright, and poet (1910–1986) Contemporary
  9. 9 Jean Renoir Jean Renoir French filmmaker (1894–1979) 19th century
  10. 10 Jean Gabin Jean Gabin French actor and singer (1904–1976) Contemporary
  11. 11 Jean Lannes Jean Lannes Marshal of The First French Empire (1769–1809) 18th century
  12. 12 Jean Marais Jean Marais French actor, writer, director and sculptor (1913–1998) Contemporary
  13. 13 Jean Jaurès Jean Jaurès French socialist leader (1859–1914) 19th century
  14. 14 Jean Racine Jean Racine 17th-century French dramatist (1639–1699) 17th century
  15. 15 Jean de La Fontaine Jean de La Fontaine French fabulist and poet (1621–1695) 17th century
  16. 16 Jean Arp Jean Arp German-French sculptor and poet (1886–1966) 19th century
  17. 17 Jean Parisot de Valette Jean Parisot de Valette 16th-century French nobleman and military leader 1494–1568 · Medieval
  18. 18 Jean Monnet Jean Monnet European statesman 1888–1979 · 19th century
  19. 19 Jean Victor Marie Moreau Jean Victor Marie Moreau French general (1763–1813) 18th century
  20. 20 Jean Bodin Jean Bodin French jurist and political philosopher (c. 1530–1596) 16th century

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Jean, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Jean?

The median living Jean is about 72 years old. Half of all living Jeans are between 62 and 81 years old.

How many people named Jean are alive today?

An estimated 209 thousand people named Jean are alive in the United States, based on 483,475 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Jean mean?

Variant of Jeanne, from French Jeanne, from Old French Jehane, from Medieval Latin Johanna, variant of Latin Ioanna under influence from Latin Iōhannēs, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννα (Iōánna), from Hebrew יוֹחָנָה (Yôḥānāh, literally…

How popular is the name Jean in 2025?

Jean ranked #2,130 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 88 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Jean?

483,475 babies have been named Jean in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Jean most popular?

Jean peaked in 1927, when 12,775 newborns received the name.

Is Jean a boy or girl name?

Jean is used for both: about 95% of babies named Jean have been girls and 5% boys.

Is the name Jean rising or falling?

Jean is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Jean become more popular?

Jean looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 89 girls named Jean in 2030, ranking outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Jean?

Well-known people named Jean include Jean Reno (actor), Jean Simmons (actor), Jean Baudrillard (philosopher).

Names like Jean

Names that sound and feel close to Jean: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Jean with similar names → More names starting with J →