Jillene
Feminine · “Built on Jill”
Jillene is Jill with the -ene ending of Arlene and Darlene, a mid-century American name built on one of the oldest short forms in English. Its best-known modern Jill spent a career listening to the sky.
How old is the name Jillene?
Jillene first appears in US birth records in 1938 — 87 years ago. The typical Jillene alive today was born around 1968, making them about 57 years old. About 600 people named Jillene are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Jillene most popular?
Jillene peaked in 1970, reaching #2240 nationally. See the whole 1970 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Juliana to Jillene
The story of Jillene
Jill has been an English short form since the Middle Ages, from Gillian, the everyday form of Juliana, and the -ene ending was one of the favorite ways American families of the mid-century made a new name. Jillene is one of those names. The best-known modern Jill is the astronomer Jill Tarter, who spent decades leading the search for radio signals from other civilizations at the SETI Institute; she was the model for the scientist Jodie Foster played in the film Contact.
Meaning
Built on Jill, from Gillian, the medieval feminine of Julian
Jill is the short form of Gillian, the medieval English form of Juliana. Jillene may join Jill to -ene or respell Jillian; nothing records which.
How the name formed
- Juliana
- Gillian
- Jill
- Jillene
Related forms: Jillian · Gillian · Juliana
Pronouncing Jillene
jil-EEN
Two syllables with the stress on the second; some families say JIL-een.
Nicknames for Jillene
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
- 1938
- Most girls named
- 197035 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2240reached in 1970
- Change vs 1990
- −33.3%6 in 2008, from 9
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.
Jillene in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Jillian in English — related form
- Gillian in English — related form
- Juliana in Latin — related form
Jillenes among us
people named Jillene 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
Jillene 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
- Built on Jill, a name everyone knows.
- Comes with Jill as a ready short form.
- Rare, so a Jillene is unlikely to share her name.
- People will write Jillian or Jilleen.
- It reads as a mid-century name.
- Two stress patterns are possible; say which one early.
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Jillene
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Jillenes are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Jillene are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Jillene in 2025?
- Jillene is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Jillene with classmates?
- Jillene will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More J names
The most-given names starting with J, all years combined.
Jennifer#586 · Jessica#665 · Janet#2778 · Julie#872 · Joyce#1071 · Joan#1085 · Julia#131 · Jean#2117
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Jillene? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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