Jennifer

Jennifer meaning

Jennifer is a Christian girl's name of Welsh origin (via Cornish).

From Gwenhwyvar: 'fair, white' + 'smooth, yielding'

Also used to mean: fair one, white wave

Jennifer is a Cornish form of Guinevere, the name of King Arthur's queen. The Online Etymology Dictionary traces it to Welsh Gwenhwyvar and explains the two parts as "fair, white" and "smooth, yielding"; "white-cheeked" is another common reading of the old name. Popular lists often say "fair one" or "white wave", which loosely echo the first part. The name stayed local to Cornwall until the twentieth century, then spread rapidly through the English-speaking world, and Christian families in India took it up in the same period. Jenny, once a pet form of Jane, is now usually short for Jennifer.

Source: Online Etymology Dictionary (etymonline.com), s.v. Jennifer · entry Jennifer · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026

References: Online Etymology Dictionary, Jennifer · Online Etymology Dictionary, Guinevere

Famous namesakes

• Jennifer Lawrence, American actress
• Jennifer Kendal, English stage actress who worked in India

Popularity abroad

• #586 United States, girls 2025 (down 42 from 544 in 2024)
  US Social Security Administration
• #650 England and Wales, girls 2025
  Office for National Statistics

Official birth registrations. India publishes no national name statistics.

Spellings

Jennifer · Jenifer · Jenny

Related names

Also meaning beauty

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