Jenessa
Jenessa Grant is a Canadian actress. She has played the characters Mud in Orphan Black, Ofsamuel in The Handmaid's Tale and Aylee in Reign. She also portrays Faith Seed in the video game Far Cry 5.
- English
Meaning & Origin of Jenessa
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Jenessa Grant is a Canadian actress. She has played the characters Mud in Orphan Black, Ofsamuel in The Handmaid's Tale and Aylee in Reign. She also portrays Faith Seed in the video game Far Cry 5.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- English
The Story of Jenessa
American parents first put Jenessa on the record books as a baby girl name in 1968, with 6 registered babies. Its peak popularity came in 1991, when 156 Jenessas were born — ranking #1,137 that year. About 28% of every Jenessa on record arrived during the 2000s, its defining decade. As of 2026, Jenessa ranks #7,131 for baby girls with 15 births, falling sharply (-39%). All told, over 3K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1960s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Variants & Related Forms of Jenessa
Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Jenessa. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Names that sound like Jenessa
Phonetically similar names — useful when Jenessa is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Jenessa
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About the name Jenessa
Jenessa is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1968 and has accumulated 3K births in the dataset. Jenessa's peak popularity came in 1991 when it ranked #1,137. Use the chart and map above to compare Jenessa's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1991 →
- Names of the 1990s →
- Names starting with "J" →
- Browse all girl names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.