Jennifer is a female given name of Welsh origin. It was created by combining the male name Jenkin with the ending -fer, which is often used in Welsh names to denote "son of". Thus, Jennifer originally meant "fair son of Gennynt" or "fair son of Gentle".
The name Jenkin itself is derived from the Welsh personal name Genwyn, which is believed to have meant "white wave" or "white shadow". However, it's important to note that the name Jennifer has since been adopted and popularized worldwide, often used independently of its original meaning.
Historically, Jennifer was first used as a feminine name in English-speaking countries during the late 19th century. It gained significant popularity following the success of the stage adaptation and subsequent film versions of George Bernard Shaw's play "Pygmalion", which featured a character named Eliza Doolittle whose friends called her "Jennie". The name's use also rose sharply after it was given to the main female character in Lerner and Loewe's musical "My Fair Lady".
Today, Jennifer remains a popular choice for parents naming their daughters. According to data from the Social Security Administration, it was among the top 1000 most popular names for girls born in the United States every year between 1947 and 2018.
Variations of the name Jennifer include Jenna, Jenny, Gennifer, Jenipher, and Jenette. Some notable people with the name Jennifer include actresses Jennifer Aniston and Jennifer Lawrence, singer Jennifer Lopez, and tennis player Jennifer Capriati.
According to the statistics provided, the name Jen has seen varying popularity over the years in the United States. The highest number of births with the name Jen occurred in 2010, with a total of 17 babies being named Jen that year. This is more than double the number of births in some other years, such as 1985 and 2012, where only 9 babies were named Jen each year.
The popularity of the name Jen seemed to decrease slightly after its peak in 2010, with 14 births in 2011 and 9 births in 2012. However, it picked back up again in 2014 and 2015, with 11 and 14 births respectively.
Overall, from 1985 to 2015, there were a total of 86 babies named Jen born in the United States. This shows that while the name Jen may not have been extremely popular every year, it has still been chosen for many children over the course of these three decades.