Jenna - Origin and Meaning of the name

[ syll. jen-na, je-nna ] The girl name Jenna is pronounced JHEHN-ah ^KEY.

1: Jenna's language of origin is Hebrew and it is predominantly used in the English language. The name developed as a variant of Jenny with the Latinate feminine suffix '-a'. It was first adopted in the late 20th century, popularized by a character bearing the name in the popular US TV soap opera Dallas (1978-1991). It is often used as a prefix in creating new names. A variation of the name is the Polish, Indian, and English Jena.

2: Jenna's origin is African-Mende. The meaning here is a small bird.

Jenna is an English variation of the English and German Jenny.

Jenna is also an English and German variation of the English Jane.

Jenna is also an English variation of the English and German Jennifer. See also the related forms, the name Jennabel, the name Jennalee, the name Jennalyn, the name Jennanne, and the name Jennarae.

Jenna is popular as a baby name for girls. The name jumped in popularity from the 1970s up to the 1980s; prior to that, it was of irregular use only. At the modest peak of its usage in 1985, 0.349% of baby girls were given the name Jenna. It ranked at #50 then. The baby name has since declined in popularity. In 2008, its usage was 0.156% and its ranking #107, but it was nonetheless the 2nd most popular after the English and German Jennifer, out of all girl names in its group. In 2008, it was used 17% more than Jenna.

Baby names that sound like Jenna include the English Gena, the English Genna, the English Jacqueine, the Iranian Jahan, the English Jahna, the English Jaimie, the English and Polish Jama, the English Jamay, the English Jame, the English Jamey, the English Jami, the English Jamie, the English Jamii, the English Jammie, the English Jamy, the English Jamye, the Czech, Dutch, English, German, Polish, Slavic, and Latvian Jana, the English Janae, the Arabic Janan, and the English Janay.

Details of famous persons named Jenna:
Actress Jenna Elfman, born Jenna Butala, 30 September 1971, Los Angeles, California.
Actress Jenna Fischer, born 7 March 1974, Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Actress Jenna von Oy, born 2 May 1977.
Political Relative Jenna Bush, born 25 November 1981, Dallas, Texas.

---

Name Popularity Trend + Variant Popularity ChartVariant Popularity Trend + Variant Popularity ChartSound-Like Popularity Trend + Sound-Like Comparison Chart