# Jean (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/jean/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | French |
| Meaning | “god is gracious” |
| Pronunciation | /d͡ʒiːn/, 1 syllable |
| Nicknames | Jeanie, Jeannie |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 483,475 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 25,039 / 458,436 (95% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 747, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

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 “God is gracious”), the feminized form of יְהוֹחָנָן (Yəhōḥānān). Doublet of Ivana, Jana, Jane, Janice, Janis, Jeanne, Jen, Joan, Joanna, Joanne, Johanna, Juana, Shavonne, Sian, Siobhan, Shane, Shaun, Shauna, and Sheena. The unincorporated community in Nevada, originally named Goodsprings Junction, was renamed Jean on 28 June 1905 by postmaster George Arthur Fayle in honor of his wife.

## What it means

Jean is grouped under grace.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 58 | 2,966 |
| 2012 | 59 | 2,916 |
| 2013 | 63 | 2,741 |
| 2014 | 77 | 2,380 |
| 2015 | 67 | 2,665 |
| 2016 | 75 | 2,451 |
| 2017 | 73 | 2,474 |
| 2018 | 76 | 2,396 |
| 2019 | 90 | 2,099 |
| 2020 | 75 | 2,358 |
| 2021 | 83 | 2,241 |
| 2022 | 73 | 2,476 |
| 2023 | 67 | 2,631 |
| 2024 | 75 | 2,425 |
| 2025 | 88 | 2,130 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 209 | 951 |
| 2012 | 190 | 1,027 |
| 2013 | 185 | 1,042 |
| 2014 | 184 | 1,066 |
| 2015 | 154 | 1,202 |
| 2016 | 182 | 1,083 |
| 2017 | 162 | 1,160 |
| 2018 | 148 | 1,248 |
| 2019 | 143 | 1,300 |
| 2020 | 122 | 1,420 |
| 2021 | 108 | 1,592 |
| 2022 | 135 | 1,385 |
| 2023 | 152 | 1,266 |
| 2024 | 185 | 1,142 |
| 2025 | 176 | 1,172 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 15 | 1,807 |
| 2012 | 14 | 1,991 |
| 2013 | 6 | 3,536 |
| 2014 | 16 | 1,798 |
| 2015 | 13 | 2,070 |
| 2016 | 13 | 2,120 |
| 2017 | 23 | 1,411 |
| 2018 | 18 | 1,649 |
| 2019 | 11 | 2,286 |
| 2020 | 9 | 2,615 |
| 2021 | 11 | 2,341 |
| 2022 | 12 | 2,178 |
| 2023 | 15 | 1,863 |
| 2024 | 22 | 1,449 |
| 2025 | 10 | 2,605 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 11 | 1,909 |
| 2012 | 15 | 1,589 |
| 2013 | 7 | 2,660 |
| 2014 | 10 | 2,079 |
| 2015 | 10 | 2,150 |
| 2016 | 6 | 3,079 |
| 2017 | 6 | 3,040 |
| 2018 | 3 | 4,749 |
| 2019 | 5 | 3,411 |
| 2020 | 7 | 2,682 |
| 2021 | 9 | 2,301 |
| 2022 | 3 | 4,789 |
| 2023 | 7 | 2,813 |
| 2024 | 7 | 2,921 |
| 2025 | 6 | 3,256 |

## People named Jean

- Jean de La Fontaine, French poet, fabulist and writer (1621–1695)
- Jean Cocteau, French writer and film director (1889–1963)
- Jean Racine, French dramatist (1639-1699)
- Jean Le Rond d'Alembert, French mathematician, mechanician, physicist, philosopher and music theorist (1717-1783)
- Jean-Marie Le Pen, French politician (1928–2025)
- Jean Gabin, French actor and singer (1904–1976)
- Jean-Baptiste Perrin, French physicist (1870–1942)
- Jean Baudrillard, French sociologist, philosopher and cultural theorist (1929–2007)
- Jean Jaurès, French / Occitan socialist leader (1859-1914)
- Jean de La Bruyère, 17th-century French writer and philosopher (1645–1696)
- Billie Jean King, American tennis player (born 1943)
- Jean Marais, French actor and theatre director (1913-1998)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.