Jean
Girl nameJean has been given to 483,475 babies in the U.S. since 1880. It peaked in 1927.
Meaning & origin /d͡ʒiːn/
Variant of Jeanne, from French Jeanne, from Old French Jehane, from Medieval Latin Johanna, variant of Latin Ioanna under influence from Latin Iōhannēs, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννα (Iōánna), from Hebrew יוֹחָנָה (Yôḥānāh, literally “God is gracious”), the feminized form of יְהוֹחָנָן (Yəhōḥānān). Doublet of Ivana, Jana, Jane, Janice, Janis, Jeanne, Jen, Joan, Joanna, Joanne, Johanna, Juana, Shavonne, Sian, Siobhan, Shane, Shaun, Shauna, and Sheena. The unincorporated community in Nevada, originally named Goodsprings Junction, was renamed Jean on 28 June 1905 by postmaster G
Origin: French
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Popularity over time births per year, 1880–2025
Total babies
483,475
Peak year
1927 (12,775 babies)
Rank in 2025
Below top 1000
First recorded
1880
10-year trend
▲ +19%
Gender split
95% girls / 5% boys
Famous people named Jean
Jean de La Fontaine
French poet, fabulist and writer (1621–1695)
Arthur Rimbaud
French poet (1854-1891)
John Calvin
French Protestant reformer (1509–1564)
Jean Cocteau
French writer and film director (1889–1963)
Notability data from Wikidata (CC0).
Names with a similar vibe
Same primary gender, peaked around the same years, and roughly as common as Jean.
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