Genette
Feminine
Genette is a mid-century American name that sounds like Jeanette. In French the same word names the genet, a slender spotted animal that medieval households in Spain and France kept to catch mice.
How old is the name Genette?
Genette first appears in US birth records in 1911 — 114 years ago. The typical Genette alive today was born around 1952, making them about 73 years old. About 400 people named Genette are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Genette most popular?
Genette peaked in 1943, reaching #2447 nationally. See the whole 1943 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Genette
The genet is a long, slim, spotted relative of the mongoose, native to Africa and southern Europe, and in medieval Spain and southern France it was kept in houses as a mouser, much as cats were; French calls it the genette. Genette, the American name, most likely came from Jeanette written with a G. But it shares its name with a quick, elegant animal of the night.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Genette may be Jeanette written with a G, or the French surname Genette; nothing records which.
Pronouncing Genette
juh-NET
Two syllables with the stress on the second, like Jeanette.
Nicknames for Genette
Limited
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
- 1911
- Most girls named
- 196317 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2447reached in 1943
- Change vs 2011
- −16.7%5 in 2013, from 6
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.
Genettes among us
people named Genette are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Genette sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Sounds like Jeanette, a name everyone knows.
- Comes with Nettie as a pet form.
- Rare in this spelling.
- People will write Jeanette.
- It reads as a mid-century name.
- It has no documented meaning of its own.
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Genette
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Genettes are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 400 people named Genette are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Genette in 2025?
- Genette is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Genette with classmates?
- Genette will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More G names
The most-given names starting with G, all years combined.
Grace#38 · Gloria#654 · Gladys#3211 · Geraldine#2438 · Gail#8362 · Gertrude#6546 · Georgia#99 · Gina#2076
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Genette? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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