Genesis
Masculine · Greek roots · “origin”
Genesis is given to both — 3,666 boys and 93,578 girls since 1880. See Genesis as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Genesis is the Greek word for beginning, and the title the ancient Greek translators of the Hebrew Bible gave to its first book — the one that opens with the making of the world. As a given name it is a young thing, an American arrival that spread quickly and then held its place, strongest in Texas, California and Florida. Three syllables, soft in the mouth, and nobody has to ask how to spell it.
How old is the name Genesis?
Genesis first appears in US birth records in 1970 — 55 years ago. The typical Genesis is a kid of about 9 — this name's wave is very recent. About 3,600 people named Genesis are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Genesis most popular?
Genesis peaked in 2020, reaching #822 nationally. Today it ranks #1305, 483 places below that high. See the whole 2020 chart.
Genesis appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From génesis (Greek) to Genesis
The story of Genesis
The word traveled long before the name did. Greek génesis meant origin or coming-into-being; the Septuagint translators applied it as the title of the Bible's first book, the Latin Vulgate kept it, and English inherited it whole, which is why the spelling has never needed adjusting in any of those languages. Its life as a given name is far more recent — part of the broader American practice of naming children from scripture's vocabulary rather than only its characters — and it took hold particularly in Spanish-speaking communities in the United States, where Génesis has become a well-established girl's name in its own right. That is one road, not two: boys and girls given this spelling both reach it through the same word, though girls account for nearly all of them.
Meaning
origin, birth, coming into being
From Greek génesis, 'origin' or 'birth'. The Greek translators of the Hebrew scriptures used it as the title of the first book, rendering the Hebrew opening word bereshit, 'in the beginning'; Latin and then English kept the Greek title unchanged.
How the name formed
- génesisGreek
- GenesisLatin
- GenesisEnglish
- GénesisSpanish
Related forms: Génesis · Gênesis · Γένεσις · Genesi · Genèse
Pronouncing Genesis
JEN-uh-sis
Stress on the first syllable, exactly as the book title is read aloud in English. Spanish speakers say it JEH-neh-sees, with the accent written in: Génesis.
Nicknames for Genesis
High
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1970
- Most boys named
- 2020279 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #822reached in 2020
- Change vs 2024
- −18.6%149 in 2025, from 183
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Genesis in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Génesis in Spanish — spelling variant
- Gênesis in Portuguese — spelling variant
- Γένεσις in Greek — transliteration
- Genesi in Italian — related form
- Genèse in French — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Georgia.
Genesiss among us
people named Genesis are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 11,464 born in 2025 was named Genesis
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Pascal test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Genesis's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Pascal climbed just as high around 1910, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Pascal's path sketches the road Genesis is walking now.
Genesis sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Genesis is headed
Genesis should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Genesis beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Genesis in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Spelled and pronounced correctly on first encounter by almost anyone literate in English — the word is already in everyone's vocabulary.
- The meaning is transparent, not something a parent has to explain or look up.
- Crosses into Spanish with only an added accent mark, which matters in the regions where it is strongest.
- Several natural short forms already in use — Gen, Genny, Gigi — without any being obligatory.
- A word with an unbroken written record in Greek, Latin and English for well over two thousand years.
- The name announces a scriptural connection whether or not you intend one. Some families want exactly that; others find strangers drawing conclusions about their beliefs from a birth announcement.
- Its life as a given name is genuinely recent, so a child will meet few adult Genesises — there is no older generation of namesakes to grow into, and some people still hear the British rock band first.
- Boys with this spelling are a small minority, so a boy named Genesis should expect the occasional assumption on a class list or form.
- It is widely recognized without being doubled up — familiar to every ear, yet unlikely to be repeated across a classroom.
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What they receive
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Genesis
Masculine · Greek roots · #1305 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Genesiss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 3,600 people named Genesis are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Genesis in 2025?
- Genesis ranks #1305 among US boy names in 2025, with 149 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Genesis?
- About 1 in every 11,464 US boys born in 2025 was named Genesis — 149 in all.
- Will my child share the name Genesis with classmates?
- Genesis will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Genesis
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Nova#1305 · Haiden#1305 · Roan#1305 · Keenan#1305 · Renzo#1310 · Coleman#1310 · Rustyn#1310 · Giovani#1310
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Genesis? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Genesis and another name?
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Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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