Recorded 1919–2025 · United States
Jennifer was most popular in 1972, when 63,790 American babies were given the name — ranking #2 that year. In 2025 it ranked #1,169, with 501 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 1,476,540 people named Jennifer.
Jennifer first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1919, which makes it about 106 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 107 of the 107 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 1,476,540 American births named Jennifer between 1880 and 2025. That is recorded US births, not a world population — it counts people issued a Social Security number at birth in the United States. Of those, roughly 1,401,438 are estimated to be alive today.
501 American babies were named Jennifer in 2025, ranking #1,169 that year.
Jennifer is falling. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 582 births a year, against 1,745 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of -67% over the decade.
Measured on recorded births. American births overall have fallen since 2007, so most established names lose births over any recent decade — a name can shed births and still hold its rank. Compare the rank above, which is measured against the other names of the same year.
Across the whole record Jennifer is a girl’s name — 99.7% of the 1,476,540 Americans given it were girls and 0.3% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 100% girls and 0% boys.
Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.
Roughly 1,401,438 Americans named Jennifer are alive today — 95% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 47 years old, and half are between 41 and 53. That is a narrow band: Jennifer arrived and faded within about a decade rather than staying in steady use.
An estimate, not a count. Recorded births are carried forward through the Social Security Administration’s 2023 period life table, by age and sex. That table describes mortality in one recent year, so it credits the oldest cohorts with today’s survival rather than the harsher rates they actually lived through — the further back a name peaked, the more this will overstate how many remain. It counts people issued a Social Security number at birth, not immigrants who arrived later.
Cornish · from Guinevere, "fair one"
See Jennifer on the interactive charts
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Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org