Jean
In French this is the masculine form of John; in Scotland and England it developed as a feminine name from the medieval Jehanne. Both go back to Hebrew Yochanan, "Yahweh is gracious."
Jean in 2025
Jean was given to 264 babies in the United States in 2025 — 176 boys and 88 girls, making it the 1,850th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 12,558 babies born.
The history of Jean
Jean reached its highest point in 1927, when 12,775 babies were given the name, ranking 29th that year. Its best-ever ranking was 26th, in 1928.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 483,475 babies have been named Jean. Half of them were born before 1938, which places the name's centre of gravity with the Silent Generation.
Jean by decade
| Decade | Babies named Jean | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 1,152 | 258 |
| 1890s | 2,581 | 200 |
| 1900s | 6,198 | 118 |
| 1910s | 40,635 | 59 |
| 1920s | 108,977 | 26 |
| 1930s | 96,238 | 29 |
| 1940s | 81,936 | 51 |
| 1950s | 73,779 | 91 |
| 1960s | 39,111 | 157 |
| 1970s | 13,255 | 278 |
| 1980s | 7,475 | 532 |
| 1990s | 4,817 | 765 |
| 2000s | 3,446 | 1,144 |
| 2010s | 2,536 | 1,480 |
| 2020s | 1,339 | 1,850 |
Where Jean is heading
Jean has risen 19% over the past decade, from 221 babies in 2015 to 264 in 2025.
That is less than 5% of its 1927 peak — Jean is now a rare name in the United States.
Names like Jean
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Jean.