# Jen (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/jen/  
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 | boys and girls |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /d͡ʒɛn/, 1 syllable |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Jên |
| US babies named this | 404 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 86 / 318 (79% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 3, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Usually a clipped or hypocoristic form of Jennifer, although also used for Jean, Jeanette, Jeannette, etc. Doublet of Ivanka, Jan, Janelle, Janet, Janey, Janine, Jeanette, Jeanie, Jeannette, Jeannine, Jenna, Jenny, Jessie, Jo, Jody, Juanita, Shanae, Sinead, and Vanna in these secondary derivations.

## 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 13 | 4,340 |
| 1971 | 13 | 4,395 |
| 1972 | 6 | 7,638 |
| 1973 | 11 | 5,014 |
| 1974 | 9 | 5,944 |
| 1976 | 9 | 6,247 |
| 1978 | 5 | 10,391 |
| 1980 | 5 | 11,017 |
| 1989 | 6 | 11,409 |
| 1991 | 5 | 14,074 |
| 1997 | 5 | 14,720 |
| 2001 | 8 | 11,456 |
| 2004 | 8 | 12,080 |
| 2005 | 6 | 15,326 |
| 2009 | 5 | 18,554 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 9 | 4,483 |
| 1994 | 6 | 8,216 |
| 2009 | 6 | 11,629 |
| 2010 | 17 | 5,355 |
| 2011 | 14 | 6,081 |
| 2012 | 9 | 8,471 |
| 2014 | 11 | 7,263 |
| 2015 | 14 | 6,124 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 3 | 3,651 |

## People named Jen

- Jen Psaki, American political advisor and White House Press Secretary from 2021 to 2022 (born 1978)
- Jen Ledger, British drummer and singer
- Jen Lilley, American actress
- Jen Kiggans, American politician and nurse
- Jen Richards, American writer, actress, producer, and activist

## 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.