Fun Facts About the Name Jenner
- 562 babies named Jenner: U.S. records list 562 babies given the name Jenner from 1880 through 2025. Even 15 girls received the name Jenner - about 1 girl for every 36 boys.
What Does the Name Jenner Mean?
Jenner is an English surname meaning "engineer," from the Anglo-Norman and Old French word for a maker and operator of engines. The Old French engigneor (also recorded as engigneour) came from engin, "device, contrivance, machine," which goes back to Latin ingenium, "cleverness, talent, a clever device." In medieval use an "engineer" was a specialist in military machines - siege towers, catapults, and similar equipment - rather than a modern professional engineer. As an occupational name it identified a man who built or operated such engines, or who made contrivances and mechanical devices more generally.
The literal sense of the root is "one who makes or operates a device"; the customary meaning carried by the name today is the shorter one, "engineer."
Jenner Name History & Origins
The word behind the name entered English from northern French after the Norman Conquest. Medieval records show it in forms such as Enginour, Enginur, and Ingenour, and with a softened initial consonant as Ginour and Jenour; medieval Latin used ingeniator for the same specialist. Because the word was long and its first syllable was unstressed, speakers and scribes shortened it, losing the opening vowel and turning the medial g into j. That process produced the surname forms Jenner and Jenour, and the same French source later gave English the modern word engineer.
The most widely known bearer is Edward Jenner (1749 - 1823), the Gloucestershire physician whose work with cowpox led to vaccination against smallpox. He did not create the surname, which had been in use for centuries before him, but his fame made it familiar far beyond the English counties where it was established.
Jenner has also been used as a given name in the English-speaking world through the common pattern of transferring a family name to a first name. There is additionally a small coastal community named Jenner in Sonoma County, California.
How Popular is the Name Jenner?
Jenner has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2011. Its best rank was #2,487 in 2011.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #17,701 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1993 | #14,425 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1977 | #10,236 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #7,389 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2024 | #11,518 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2023 | #10,179 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2022 | #9,367 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2021 | #10,198 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2020 | #12,938 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2019 | #9,248 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2018 | #13,035 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2017 | #10,167 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2015 | #5,858 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2014 | #4,961 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 2013 | #4,386 | 22 | 0.0012% |
| 2012 | #3,417 | 32 | 0.0017% |
| 2011 | #2,487 | 50 | 0.0026% |
| 2010 | #3,344 | 33 | 0.0017% |
| 2009 | #3,869 | 27 | 0.0014% |
| 2008 | #4,456 | 22 | 0.0011% |
| 2007 | #4,890 | 19 | 0.0009% |
| 2006 | #5,918 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2005 | #6,020 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2004 | #6,734 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2003 | #7,522 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2002 | #9,959 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2001 | #9,833 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2000 | #4,899 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1999 | #5,469 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1998 | #5,283 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1997 | #5,444 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1996 | #6,211 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1995 | #4,639 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1994 | #6,066 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1993 | #5,167 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1992 | #6,365 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1991 | #4,108 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1990 | #4,527 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1989 | #8,476 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1988 | #6,069 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1987 | #7,488 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1986 | #5,078 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1984 | #5,917 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1981 | #6,733 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1980 | #5,861 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1977 | #3,990 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1976 | #4,192 | 8 | 0.0005% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Jenner Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are honest, benevolent, brilliant and often inventive, full of high inspirations. You are courageous, honest, determined, original and creative. You are a leader, especially for a cause. Sometimes you do not care to finish what you start, and may leave details to others. You can do well in position of authority, and prospers in intellectual and professional fields. You have an eventful, exciting life. You are versatile and have the ability to learn easily.
Creative and outgoing, you are always looking for an opportunity to show your abilities, especially before audience. You are very flexible and like to feel appreciated. You are looking for chances to mix with others socially and to communicate your ideas. You like to talk and can easily relate to different cultures and concepts. The biggest challenge for you is uncertainty. Easily getting bored, you can move from one job to another, switch projects and lovers. The high creative force can lead you either to happiness or unhappiness. If you understand your goals, if you can make major decisions in life and follow it directly and straight up without worry and uncertainty, you are able to achieve great heights.
✦ Jenner's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Jenner's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.