girls' name ★ peaked 1977

Jenny

Gender Girl · 1% boys Rank 2025 #1,503 Trend ↓ Falling 13%

From Jen +‎ -y, historically as a hypochoristic form of Janet, Jane, etc. but now more often used as a diminutive of Jennifer.

Rank 2025
#1,503
among girls · ↓111 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
142
named Jenny · -12% vs 2024
How common
1 in 11,319
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1977
2,700 babies
All-time total
92,706
#398 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Jenny popularity over time

92,706 babies have been named Jenny 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
0.511.5218801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
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 167 – 167 17 – #439
1890s 237 – 237 24 +42% #532
1900s 306 – 306 31 +29% #541
1910s 979 – 979 98 +220% #569
1920s 1,963 29 1,992 199 +103% #468
1930s 1,937 52 1,989 199 0% #434
1940s 3,580 109 3,689 369 +85% #337
1950s 8,702 79 8,781 878 +138% #242
1960s 10,952 59 11,011 1,101 +25% #230
1970s 22,902 114 23,016 2,302 +109% #108
1980s 19,719 132 19,851 1,985 -14% #117
1990s 10,142 31 10,173 1,017 -49% #214
2000s 6,686 – 6,686 669 -34% #354
2010s 2,884 – 2,884 288 -57% #761
2020s (to 2025) 945 – 945 158 -45% #1,306

Where Jenny 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 138 0.09 outside top 500
2027 134 0.08 outside top 500
2028 132 0.08 outside top 500
2029 129 0.08 outside top 500
2030 127 0.08 outside top 500

Where Jenny is most popular

Girls named Jenny per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.098 per 1,000. Strongest in Washington, Tennessee, and California.

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 Jenny 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
Washington 28 0.194 +99%
Tennessee 22 0.139 +42%
California 113 0.134 +38%
Texas 94 0.117 +20%
South Carolina 10 0.111 +14%
Mississippi 5 0.107 +9%
New York 42 0.106 +9%
Florida 45 0.105 +8%
Georgia 22 0.097 ≈ national
Pennsylvania 20 0.085 -13%
Massachusetts 10 0.083 -15%
Ohio 16 0.067 -31%
Virginia 11 0.065 -34%
North Carolina 13 0.057 -42%
Alabama 5 0.053 -45%
Illinois 11 0.048 -51%
Indiana 6 0.043 -56%
Missouri 5 0.041 -58%
Michigan 5 0.027 -72%
Alaska – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Minnesota – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Jersey – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Vermont – – –
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 Jenny

Jenny is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #1,503 in 2025 with 142 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 92,706 American babies have been named Jenny. Its peak came in 1977, when 2,700 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1970s.

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 Jenny stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Jenny?

The median living Jenny is about 46 years old; half are between 36 and 55. An estimated 82 thousand people named Jenny are alive in the United States today.

median 46 020406080100

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

Jenny 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 142 #1,503 – –
2024 162 #1,392 – –
2023 174 #1,306 – –
2022 166 #1,382 – –
2021 148 #1,454 – –
2020 153 #1,428 – –
2019 196 #1,196 – –
2018 220 #1,113 – –
2017 260 #997 – –
2016 235 #1,095 – –
2015 281 #967 – –
2014 335 #827 – –
2013 337 #804 – –
2012 308 #864 – –
2011 362 #761 – –
2010 350 #787 – –
2009 406 #709 – –
2008 512 #600 – –
2007 616 #514 – –
2006 667 #476 – –
2005 613 #498 – –
2004 685 #447 – –
2003 709 #424 – –
2002 840 #354 – –
2001 810 #367 – –
2000 828 #361 – –
1995 979 #284 10 #5,685
1990 1,337 #214 11 #4,825
1985 1,812 #157 10 #4,188
1980 2,645 #117 18 #2,666
1975 2,064 #135 8 #4,107
1970 1,409 #224 7 #4,030
1965 987 #275 8 #3,104
1960 1,351 #235 9 #2,964
1955 759 #311 8 #3,087
1950 569 #322 7 #3,173
1945 301 #413 8 #2,656
1940 238 #442 9 #2,573
1935 186 #467 8 #2,820
1930 235 #438 – –
1925 201 #494 6 #3,953
1920 188 #507 – –
1915 106 #641 – –
1910 41 #669 – –
1905 18 #886 – –
1900 39 #546 – –
1895 23 #650 – –
1890 17 #655 – –
1885 17 #529 – –
1880 13 #480 – –

Famous people named Jenny

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

  1. 1 Jenny McCarthy Jenny McCarthy American actress and model (born 1972) Contemporary
  2. 2 Jenny Slate Jenny Slate American actress, comedian, and writer (born 1982) Contemporary
  3. 3 Jenny Han Jenny Han American writer (born 1980) Contemporary
  4. 4 Jenny Agutter Jenny Agutter English actress (born 1952) Contemporary
  5. 5 Jenny Mollen Jenny Mollen American actress (born 1979) Contemporary
  6. 6 Jenny Lewis Jenny Lewis American musician and actress (born 1976) Contemporary
  7. 7 Jenny Lind Jenny Lind Swedish opera singer (1820–1887) 19th century
  8. 8 Jenny Shimizu Jenny Shimizu American model and actress (born 1967) Contemporary
  9. 9 Jenny von Westphalen Jenny von Westphalen German theatre critic and political activist (1814–1881) 19th century
  10. 10 Jenny Meadows Jenny Meadows English athlete (born 1981) Contemporary
  11. 11 Jenny Holzer American conceptual artist b. 1950 · Contemporary
  12. 12 Jenny Shipley Jenny Shipley Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1997 to 1999 b. 1952 · Contemporary
  13. 13 Jenny Simpson Jenny Simpson American runner (born 1986) Contemporary
  14. 14 Jenny Erpenbeck Jenny Erpenbeck German writer and opera director (born 1967) Contemporary
  15. 15 Jenny Thompson American swimmer (born 1973) Contemporary
  16. 16 Jenny Rissveds Jenny Rissveds Swedish cross-country mountainbike rider (born 1994) Contemporary
  17. 17 Jenny Wolf Jenny Wolf German speed skater b. 1979 · Contemporary
  18. 18 Jenny Fransson Swedish freestyle wrestler b. 1987 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Jenny?

The median living Jenny is about 46 years old. Half of all living Jennys are between 36 and 55 years old.

How many people named Jenny are alive today?

An estimated 82 thousand people named Jenny are alive in the United States, based on 92,706 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Jenny mean?

From Jen +‎ -y, historically as a hypochoristic form of Janet, Jane, etc. but now more often used as a diminutive of Jennifer.

How popular is the name Jenny in 2025?

Jenny ranked #1,503 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 142 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Jenny?

92,706 babies have been named Jenny in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Jenny most popular?

Jenny peaked in 1977, when 2,700 newborns received the name.

Is Jenny a boy or girl name?

Jenny is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 99% of babies with the name.

Is the name Jenny rising or falling?

Jenny is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Jenny become more popular?

Jenny is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 127 girls named Jenny in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Jenny?

Well-known people named Jenny include Jenny McCarthy (actor), Jenny Slate (actor), Jenny Han (writer).

Names like Jenny

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

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