Popularity of the name Jennifer, 1919–2025
Jennifer was at its most popular in 1974, when 63,107 girls were given the name: about 1 in 23 girls born in the U.S. that year, ranking #1. In 2025, 501 girls were named Jennifer, ranking #586. In all, Social Security counts 1,471,703 girls named Jennifer since 1919. Social Security’s records also list 4,837 boys named Jennifer.
- Peak year
- 1974
- Rank in 1974
- #1
- Babies in 1974
- 63,107
- Rank in 2025
- #586
- Total since 1919
- 1,471,703
Where it stands now
In the past decade the name slipped from #251 in 2015 to #586 in 2025: 1,286 girls got it in 2015, and 501 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Its best decade was the 1970s, when 581,729 girls were named Jennifer, #1 for the decade. It ranked #6,552 in the 1910s and #515 in the 2020s so far.
Every 20 years in the records: 7 in 1920 (#3,957), 102 in 1940 (#686), 7,243 in 1960 (#61), 58,374 in 1980 (#1), 9,390 in 2000 (#26) and 713 in 2020 (#431).
Highs and lows
The most girls given the name in a single year was 63,600, in 1972. That is not its peak year: Social Security’s records hold more girls for 1972 than for 1974, so the name’s share of births was smaller. Its best rank in any year was #1, first reached in 1970.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1919 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 girls named Jennifer, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1919 | 6 | #4,251 |
| 1920 | 7 | #3,957 |
| 1921 | 5 | #5,099 |
| 1922 | 7 | #4,011 |
| 1923 | 9 | #3,350 |
| 1924 | 11 | #2,973 |
| 1925 | 9 | #3,362 |
| 1926 | 9 | #3,269 |
| 1927 | 5 | #4,805 |
| 1928 | 7 | #3,743 |
| 1929 | 17 | #2,011 |
| 1930 | 17 | #2,023 |
| 1931 | 26 | #1,459 |
| 1932 | 25 | #1,520 |
| 1933 | 30 | #1,311 |
| 1934 | 41 | #1,098 |
| 1935 | 36 | #1,182 |
| 1936 | 42 | #1,081 |
| 1937 | 38 | #1,160 |
| 1938 | 51 | #992 |
| 1939 | 62 | #891 |
| 1940 | 102 | #686 |
| 1941 | 136 | #604 |
| 1942 | 198 | #527 |
| 1943 | 337 | #397 |
| 1944 | 684 | #263 |
| 1945 | 985 | #199 |
| 1946 | 1,733 | #156 |
| 1947 | 2,010 | #145 |
| 1948 | 1,882 | #151 |
| 1949 | 2,618 | #121 |
| 1950 | 2,802 | #118 |
| 1951 | 2,973 | #119 |
| 1952 | 3,527 | #107 |
| 1953 | 3,375 | #115 |
| 1954 | 3,966 | #108 |
| 1955 | 4,123 | #104 |
| 1956 | 4,711 | #97 |
| 1957 | 5,483 | #87 |
| 1958 | 5,882 | #81 |
| 1959 | 6,233 | #77 |
| 1960 | 7,243 | #61 |
| 1961 | 9,265 | #47 |
| 1962 | 10,977 | #41 |
| 1963 | 11,757 | #36 |
| 1964 | 12,955 | #31 |
| 1965 | 15,207 | #20 |
| 1966 | 18,215 | #10 |
| 1967 | 18,236 | #10 |
| 1968 | 26,853 | #4 |
| 1969 | 33,705 | #3 |
| 1970 | 46,150 | #1 |
| 1971 | 56,771 | #1 |
| 1972 | 63,600 | #1 |
| 1973 | 62,448 | #1 |
| 1974 | 63,107 | #1 |
| 1975 | 58,190 | #1 |
| 1976 | 59,473 | #1 |
| 1977 | 58,964 | #1 |
| 1978 | 56,314 | #1 |
| 1979 | 56,712 | #1 |
| 1980 | 58,374 | #1 |
| 1981 | 57,046 | #1 |
| 1982 | 57,120 | #1 |
| 1983 | 54,353 | #1 |
| 1984 | 50,564 | #1 |
| 1985 | 42,661 | #3 |
| 1986 | 36,187 | #4 |
| 1987 | 32,710 | #4 |
| 1988 | 27,893 | #5 |
| 1989 | 24,006 | #7 |
| 1990 | 22,236 | #8 |
| 1991 | 20,673 | #8 |
| 1992 | 17,819 | #11 |
| 1993 | 15,749 | #15 |
| 1994 | 14,001 | #17 |
| 1995 | 12,683 | #18 |
| 1996 | 11,732 | #19 |
| 1997 | 11,840 | #18 |
| 1998 | 10,692 | #20 |
| 1999 | 10,616 | #21 |
| 2000 | 9,390 | #26 |
| 2001 | 8,923 | #26 |
| 2002 | 8,540 | #28 |
| 2003 | 7,569 | #31 |
| 2004 | 6,545 | #39 |
| 2005 | 5,837 | #42 |
| 2006 | 5,268 | #51 |
| 2007 | 4,653 | #64 |
| 2008 | 3,797 | #84 |
| 2009 | 2,987 | #110 |
| 2010 | 2,622 | #121 |
| 2011 | 2,281 | #134 |
| 2012 | 1,928 | #164 |
| 2013 | 1,692 | #192 |
| 2014 | 1,521 | #222 |
| 2015 | 1,286 | #251 |
| 2016 | 1,162 | #272 |
| 2017 | 1,052 | #309 |
| 2018 | 921 | #344 |
| 2019 | 788 | #390 |
| 2020 | 713 | #431 |
| 2021 | 638 | #493 |
| 2022 | 630 | #501 |
| 2023 | 586 | #520 |
| 2024 | 556 | #544 |
| 2025 | 501 | #586 |
How these numbers are counted
Social Security publishes, for every year since 1880, how many babies of each sex were given each name, counting any name given to at least 5. A name’s rank is its place that year among names for the same sex, by number of babies. Names with the same count share a rank here, while Social Security’s own lists break ties alphabetically, so a rank can differ from theirs by a place or two. A name’s share is the number of babies given it divided by all babies of that sex in the data that year, and its peak is the year that share was highest. Shares rather than counts set the peak, because far more babies were born in some years than others: counting babies alone would pull nearly every name’s peak toward the 1946–1964 baby boom.
Source: the U.S. Social Security Administration’s national baby name data, from Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S. A name is left out of a year when fewer than 5 babies of one sex got it, and counts before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a card. See how Baby Boom builds its data. Figures may contain errors.