Jennifer

Jen·ni·fer
J8E1N1N1I1F4E1R1
US/ˈd͡ʒɛnɪfɚ/UK/ˈd͡ʒɛnɪfə/

proper noun

A female given name from Cornish.

OriginCornish Gweniver ← Middle Cornish Gwynnever ← Proto-Brythonic *Gwɨnnohuɨβar →
CommonScrabble 18
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Meanings

proper nounJennifer (plural Jennifers)

plural Jennifers · alternative Jenifer · alternative Jenipher

  1. A female given name from Cornish.

    "Most people's sisters have decent names like Jennifer or Jane or something. What did you say hers was?"

    1960, Jerrard Tickell, The Hunt for Richard Thorpe, Doubleday, page 10
    3 more examples

    RIDGEON. Thats a wonderful drawing. Why is it called Jennifer? MRS DUBEDAT. My name is Jennifer. RIDGEON. A strange name. MRS DUBEDAT. Not in Cornwall. I am Cornish. It's only what you call Guinevere.

    1906, George Bernard Shaw, The Doctor's Dilemma, act I

    Jennifer. Jenny with the light brown hair. Jenny-fair, their high school French teacher had called her, and fair she had been.

    2000, Dana Stabenow, Nothing Gold Can Stay, Dutton, →ISBN, page 131

    “When it comes to the dry skin, it’s really a matter of that top barrier that’s not holding onto the moisture as well,” said Dr. Jennifer Stein, a dermatologist at NYU Langone Health.

    2025 February 10, Monica Haider, “Dermatologists share how to treat dry skin”, in CNN

Origin

  1. Proto-Brythonic*Gwɨnnohuɨβar
  2. Middle CornishGwynnever
  3. CornishGweniver
  4. EnglishJennifer

From Cornish Gweniver, from Middle Cornish Gwynnever (cognate with Welsh Gwenhwyfar), from Proto-Brythonic *Gwɨnnohuɨβar. Doublet of Guinevere. Compare Irish Fionnabhair, which may be cognate. The /d͡ʒ/ consonantism is due to Anglo-Norman influence; compare Old French Genievre /d͡ʒəˈniɛ̯vɾə/, /d͡ʒəˈnjɛvɾə/.

More words from Cornish, Middle Cornish, Proto-Brythonic

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 珍妮弗
  • 珍妮弗 (Zhēnnīfú)female given name
Finnish Jennifer
  • Jenniferfemale given name
Greek Τζένιφερ
  • Τζένιφερ (Tzénifer)female given name
Hungarian Dzsenifer
  • Dzseniferfemale given name
Latin Guenevera
  • Gueneverafemale given name
Polish Ginewra
  • Ginewrafemale given name
Portuguese Jennifer
  • Jenniferfemale given name
Russian Дже́ннифер, Дже́ннифер
  • Дже́ннифер (Džénnifɛr)female given name
  • Дже́ннифер (Džénnifer)female given name
Spanish Ginebra, Yénifer
  • Ginebrafemale given name
  • Yéniferfemale given name
Cite this entry
APA

Jennifer. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Jennifer

MLA

“Jennifer.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Jennifer. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Jennifer,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Jennifer.

Source: Jennifer on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.