Jenna

A fanciful variant of Jenny, usually as an diminutive form of Jennifer.

Doublet of Ivanka, Jan, Janelle, Janet, Janey, Janine, Jeanette, Jeanie, Jeannette, Jeannine, Jen, Jenny, Jessie, Jo, Jody, Juanita, Shanae, Sinead, and Vanna when based on Jenny's other derivations.

• IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒɛnə/
• Homophones: Jena, Gena

Jenna

1. A female given name, variant of Jenny. [1970s]
   • 2002, Margaret Brown Klapthor, Allida M. Black, The First Ladies, Government Printing Office, →ISBN, page 95:

     In 1981, their twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna (named after their grandmothers) were born. In 1994, George W. Bush was elected governor of Texas.

   • 2019 March 5, Elly Griffiths, The Stranger Diaries, Houghton Mifflin, →ISBN, page 284:

     I gave the false name I always use, Jenna Barclay. Password: Jennbar17. I don't know why but this always strikes me as the perfect white, Anglo-Saxon name.

Modern variant of Jenni.

• IPA^(key): /ˈjenːɑ/, [ˈje̞nːɑ̝]
• Rhymes: -enːɑ
• Syllabification^(key): Jen‧na

Jenna

1. a female given name
   • 2002, Leena Lehtolainen, Kun luulit unohtaneesi, Tammi, →ISBN, page 103:

     Jenna kuulosti nuoren naisen nimeltä, Katjaakin nuoremman. Mitäpä sellaiset kakarat tietäisivätkään elämän tosiasioista?

     Jenna sounded like the name of a young woman. Even younger than Katja. What would such brats know about the realities of life?

   • 2007, Outi Alm, Hemingwayn naiset, Gummerus, →ISBN, page 190:

     ―Siis kyllä minä vielä tytöt erotan pojista, yleensä, mutta ne nimet ja naamataulut ovat niin samankaltaisia. On Jennaa, Jonnaa, Jereä ja Joria, lävistyksiä, hiusvärejä ja tatuointeja. Mikseivät ne saman tien voi tatuoida nimeään otsaan niin mummokin muistaisi kenen kanssa puhuu?

     ―Well I can often tell girls apart from boys, usually, but the names and nameplates are so similar. You've got some Jennas, Jonnas, Jeres and Joris, piercings, hair dyes and tattoos. Why couldn't they just tattoo their names on their foreheads so that even their grandma would remember which one they're talking with?

• The most popular first name for girls born in Finland in 1996, 1999 and 2000.

• Jenna is the 65^th most common female given name in Finland, belonging to 10,729 female individuals (and as a middle name to 845 more), according to February 2023 data from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency of Finland.

• Janne