Genevive
Feminine
Genevieve talked Paris out of running from Attila. In 451 the city was preparing to flee the Huns, she told the Parisians to stay and pray, the Huns turned toward Orleans instead, and she has been the city's patron ever since.
How old is the name Genevive?
Genevive first appears in US birth records in 1892 — 133 years ago. The typical Genevive alive today was born around 1937, making them about 88 years old. About 500 people named Genevive are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Genevive most popular?
Genevive peaked in 1896, reaching #1292 nationally. Today it ranks #10917, 9,625 places below that high. See the whole 1896 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Genovefa to Genevive
The story of Genevive
The life of Genevieve was written within a generation or two of her death and describes a woman with considerable political weight in fifth-century Paris. In 451 she persuaded the citizens not to abandon the city as Attila advanced, and the Huns went elsewhere; a few years later, during a Frankish siege, she is said to have led a convoy up the Seine to bring in grain. Her shrine became one of the most important in Paris, her relics were carried through the streets in times of plague and flood, and the Pantheon was originally built as her church. The revolutionaries burned her remains in 1793. Her name is Frankish and, despite many confident glosses, nobody knows what it means.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Genevieve is from the Frankish name Genovefa, whose elements are not established; proposals include a Germanic word for a woman or a kinsman and a Celtic source. Genevive is an American respelling; the peak is 1896.
How the name formed
- Genovefa
- Genevieve
- Genevive
Related forms: Genevieve · Genoveva · Genoveva
Pronouncing Genevive
JEN-uh-veev
Three syllables, stress on the first. The French has the stress at the end and a nasal opening vowel.
Nicknames for Genevive
Moderate
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
- 1892
- Most girls named
- 192429 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1292reached in 1896
- Change vs 2022
- −33.3%8 in 2025, from 12
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.
Genevive in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Genevieve in French — spelling variant
- Genoveva in German — same name
- Genoveva in Spanish — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California.
Genevives among us
people named Genevive are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 200,908 born in 2025 was named Genevive
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Genevive 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
Genevive beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Genevive in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Genny, Eve and Vivi are three short forms in three registers.
- The saint behind it is documented in an early life.
- Three syllables with a firm opening beat.
- Genevieve is the standard spelling.
- Its meaning is genuinely unknown.
- The 1896 peak dates this variant.
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Genevive
Feminine · #10917 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Genevives are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Genevive are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Genevive in 2025?
- Genevive ranks #10917 among US girl names in 2025, with 8 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Genevive?
- About 1 in every 200,908 US girls born in 2025 was named Genevive — 8 in all.
- Will my child share the name Genevive with classmates?
- Genevive will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Genevive
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Edythe#10917 · Tessie#10917 · Drusilla#10917 · Eugenie#10917 · Ivah#10917 · Karri#10917 · Claribel#10917 · Myrtle#10917
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Genevive? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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