Fun Facts About the Name Jensen
- More than 20 thousand babies named Jensen: U.S. records list 20,259 babies given the name Jensen from 1880 through 2025. Of these, 2,920 girls received the name Jensen - about 1 girl for every 6 boys.
What Does the Name Jensen Mean?
Jensen is a Danish and Norwegian patronymic name meaning "son of Jens." It is formed from the male given name Jens and the patronymic ending -sen, which means "son." In this literal sense, Jensen is not a descriptive word meaning "gracious" or "God is gracious"; it is a family name that identifies a person as the son of a man named Jens.
Jens itself is a Scandinavian form of Johannes, the Latin and Greek form of the Hebrew name Yochanan (John). That Hebrew name is traditionally interpreted as "Yahweh is gracious" or "God is gracious." Through this chain, the deeper etymology of Jensen is connected to the meaning of John, but the name's immediate meaning remains "son of Jens."
Jensen Name History & Origins
Patronymic bynames were common in Denmark and Norway for centuries. A child could be recorded as, for example, Jens's son, using the father's given name plus an ending such as -sen or -son. What began as a description changed into a fixed family name as Scandinavian governments and church records moved toward hereditary surnames in the 19th century. The form Jensen belongs to this Danish and Norwegian tradition; the closely related Norwegian spelling Jenssen also appears.
Danish and Norwegian immigrants carried the surname Jensen to North America and other parts of the world. In English-speaking countries, Jensen later began to be used as a given name, usually for boys, as a transferred use of the surname rather than from a saint's name or a literary coinage. Its use as a first name is therefore separate from its older life as a patronymic family name.
How Popular is the Name Jensen?
Jensen recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2025. Its best rank was #282 in 2025.
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 | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #2,266 | 81 | 0.0050% |
| 2024 | #3,128 | 51 | 0.0032% |
| 2023 | #2,530 | 70 | 0.0044% |
| 2022 | #2,475 | 73 | 0.0045% |
| 2021 | #2,374 | 76 | 0.0046% |
| 2020 | #2,667 | 63 | 0.0039% |
| 2019 | #2,614 | 67 | 0.0040% |
| 2018 | #2,394 | 76 | 0.0045% |
| 2017 | #3,216 | 50 | 0.0029% |
| 2016 | #3,080 | 54 | 0.0030% |
| 2015 | #2,390 | 77 | 0.0043% |
| 2014 | #2,631 | 67 | 0.0038% |
| 2013 | #3,235 | 50 | 0.0028% |
| 2012 | #3,239 | 51 | 0.0029% |
| 2011 | #4,983 | 28 | 0.0016% |
| 2010 | #3,063 | 55 | 0.0031% |
| 2009 | #4,313 | 35 | 0.0019% |
| 2008 | #3,810 | 42 | 0.0022% |
| 2007 | #3,355 | 50 | 0.0026% |
| 2006 | #3,643 | 43 | 0.0023% |
| 2005 | #2,800 | 59 | 0.0032% |
| 2004 | #2,870 | 56 | 0.0030% |
| 2003 | #2,379 | 70 | 0.0038% |
| 2002 | #1,877 | 95 | 0.0053% |
| 2001 | #1,519 | 123 | 0.0068% |
| 2000 | #1,477 | 125 | 0.0069% |
| 1999 | #1,141 | 172 | 0.0097% |
| 1998 | #988 | 204 | 0.0115% |
| 1997 | #1,023 | 188 | 0.0108% |
| 1996 | #1,084 | 171 | 0.0098% |
| 1995 | #1,349 | 122 | 0.0069% |
| 1994 | #1,640 | 92 | 0.0052% |
| 1993 | #1,993 | 70 | 0.0039% |
| 1992 | #1,994 | 69 | 0.0037% |
| 1991 | #2,603 | 47 | 0.0025% |
| 1990 | #2,414 | 51 | 0.0027% |
| 1989 | #3,722 | 27 | 0.0015% |
| 1988 | #5,730 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 1981 | #9,564 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #282 | 1,207 | 0.0707% |
| 2024 | #327 | 1,054 | 0.0614% |
| 2023 | #301 | 1,111 | 0.0650% |
| 2022 | #304 | 1,104 | 0.0633% |
| 2021 | #302 | 1,095 | 0.0626% |
| 2020 | #302 | 1,100 | 0.0638% |
| 2019 | #288 | 1,194 | 0.0666% |
| 2018 | #292 | 1,196 | 0.0659% |
| 2017 | #336 | 1,010 | 0.0546% |
| 2016 | #367 | 907 | 0.0478% |
| 2015 | #395 | 791 | 0.0413% |
| 2014 | #393 | 793 | 0.0413% |
| 2013 | #437 | 660 | 0.0349% |
| 2012 | #512 | 519 | 0.0274% |
| 2011 | #608 | 400 | 0.0211% |
| 2010 | #723 | 318 | 0.0166% |
| 2009 | #835 | 259 | 0.0131% |
| 2008 | #999 | 196 | 0.0096% |
| 2007 | #1,085 | 169 | 0.0081% |
| 2006 | #1,219 | 138 | 0.0067% |
| 2005 | #1,100 | 150 | 0.0075% |
| 2004 | #1,219 | 125 | 0.0063% |
| 2003 | #1,331 | 104 | 0.0053% |
| 2002 | #1,330 | 100 | 0.0052% |
| 2001 | #1,225 | 109 | 0.0056% |
| 2000 | #1,018 | 144 | 0.0073% |
| 1999 | #1,064 | 128 | 0.0067% |
| 1998 | #968 | 143 | 0.0075% |
| 1997 | #1,338 | 84 | 0.0045% |
| 1996 | #1,318 | 83 | 0.0044% |
| 1995 | #1,355 | 76 | 0.0040% |
| 1994 | #1,484 | 64 | 0.0033% |
| 1993 | #1,729 | 50 | 0.0025% |
| 1992 | #1,607 | 55 | 0.0028% |
| 1991 | #1,472 | 60 | 0.0030% |
| 1990 | #1,342 | 69 | 0.0034% |
| 1989 | #1,525 | 54 | 0.0027% |
| 1988 | #1,458 | 53 | 0.0028% |
| 1987 | #1,957 | 32 | 0.0017% |
| 1986 | #1,306 | 56 | 0.0030% |
| 1985 | #1,555 | 42 | 0.0023% |
| 1984 | #1,564 | 39 | 0.0022% |
| 1983 | #1,437 | 44 | 0.0025% |
| 1982 | #1,608 | 38 | 0.0021% |
| 1981 | #2,064 | 26 | 0.0015% |
| 1980 | #1,928 | 29 | 0.0016% |
| 1979 | #1,966 | 27 | 0.0016% |
| 1978 | #1,893 | 27 | 0.0016% |
| 1977 | #2,308 | 20 | 0.0012% |
| 1976 | #2,286 | 20 | 0.0013% |
| 1975 | #3,328 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 1974 | #4,903 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1973 | #3,114 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 1972 | #4,693 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1969 | #4,684 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1965 | #4,174 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1955 | #3,087 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1954 | #4,085 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1930 | #4,270 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1927 | #4,488 | 5 | 0.0004% |
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.
