(White, Fair, Blessed, Holy)
[ 3 syll. jen-ni-fer, je-nnif-er ] The girl name Jennifer is pronounced JHEHNahFer KEY. Jennifer's origin is Welsh, and its use, English and German. Derived from gwen 'white, fair, blessed, holy' ; hwyfar 'smooth'. Older forms of the name include the Old French Guinevere and the Welsh Gwenhwyfar. The name first evolved as a Cornish form of Guinevere; the latter was borne in Arthurian legend by the queen consort of King Arthur, famous for her affair with the king's most trusted knight Sir Lancelot. The name Jennifer was first used by English speakers in the 18th century; by the start of the 20th century interest in the name as a Cornish variant picked up, and it rapidly replaced the old form. The popularity of the name was first boosted by its appearance as the character Jennifer Dubedat in the George Bernard Shaw play The Doctor's Dilemma (1905).
Variant forms of Jennifer include the English Gaynor and the Italian Ginevra. The short forms Jena (English), Jennie (English), and Jenny (English and German), and the spelling variants Jenifer (English and German) and Jennyfer (English and German) are other forms of the name.
Jennifer is popular as a baby name for girls. The name grew in popularity from the 1930s up to the 1970s; prior to that, it was of only very light use. At the height of its usage in 1974, 4.030% of baby girls were named Jennifer. Its ranking then was #1. The baby name has since experienced a marked drop in frequency. In 2007, it ranked at #64 with a usage of 0.219%, but it was nevertheless the most popular within all girl names in its group. Jennifer was more regularly used than the next ranked name, the English and German Jenny, by 8 times in 2007. Jennifer has predominantly been a girl name, although in the past century it has also been used for boys. Girls named Jennifer outnumbered boys by 172 times in 1989.
Baby names that sound like Jennifer include the English and German Jenifer, the English and German Jennyfer, and the Italian Ginevra.
KEY: Pronunciation for Jennifer: JH as in "gee (JH.IY)" ; EH as in "Ed (EH.D)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)" ; F as in "fee (F.IY)" ; ER as in "hurt (HH.ER.T)"
KEY: Pronunciation for Jennifer: JH as in "gee (JH.IY)" ; EH as in "Ed (EH.D)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)" ; F as in "fee (F.IY)" ; ER as in "hurt (HH.ER.T)"
Partial List of Famous Persons - 10 names
Full List of Famous Persons - 12 names
Details of famous persons named Jennifer:
Actress Jennifer Aniston, born 11 February 1969, Sherman Oaks, California.
Actress Jennifer Connelly, born 12 December 1970.
Actress Jennifer Garner, born 17 April 1972, Houston, Texas.
Actress Jennifer Love Hewitt, born 21 February 1979, Waco, Texas.
Actress Jennifer Hudson, born 12 September 1981, Chicago, Illinois.
Actress Jennifer Jones, born Phylis Isley, 2 March 1919, Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Actress Jennifer Lopez, born 24 July 1970, New York, New York.
Actress Jennifer Tilly, born 16 September 1958, Harbor City, California.
Artist Jennifer Joseph.
Internet Celebrity Jenn Sterger, born Jennifer Lynette Sterger.