UK girl's name
Genevieve
A feminine name of French origin meaning "white wave" or "white path".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Genevieve is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Genevieve popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #583, with 67 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2012, with 117 births.
This profile covers 2,393 England and Wales registrations across 29 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, NRS Scotland and NISRA Northern Ireland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 57% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 2,520 living people in the UK are called Genevieve. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Genevieve ranked #583 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 67 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2012, when 117 girls were registered as Genevieve.
- • Genevieve ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #407 in 2024.
- • About 2,520 living people in the UK are estimated to have Genevieve as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#583
2024
Births in 2024
67
Latest year
Peak year
2012
117 births
Estimated living
2,520
2026
Meaning
What does Genevieve mean?
The name Genevieve originated from the medieval French Geneviève, which is derived from the Germanic Gewinniva. The name is composed of the elements gewin, meaning "woman" or "wife", and sibb, meaning "akin" or "peace". It is a feminine form of the masculine name Gewin.
Genevieve gained popularity as a Christian name due to the influence of St. Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris, who lived in the 5th century. According to legend, she played a crucial role in encouraging the Parisians to resist the Huns led by Attila during their siege of the city in 451 AD.
The earliest recorded use of the name Genevieve dates back to the 6th century. In the Middle Ages, it was a popular name among the French nobility and royalty. One notable bearer was Genevieve of Brabant, a 7th-century Belgian princess who became a popular subject of medieval legends and folklore.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Genevieve. Genevieve de Gaulle-Anthonioz (1920-2002) was a French Resistance fighter during World War II and a prominent human rights activist. Genevieve Ward (1837-1922) was an American actress and playwright known for her performances in Shakespearean roles.
Genevieve Nnaji (born 1979) is a Nigerian actress, producer, and director, widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the Nigerian entertainment industry. Genevieve Bujold (born 1942) is a Canadian actress known for her roles in films such as Anne of the Thousand Days and Coma.
Genevieve Habert (1910-1996) was a French mathematician and computer scientist, notable for her contributions to the development of early programming languages and the design of the LACARI programming system. She was a pioneer in the field of computer science and one of the first women to make significant contributions to the discipline.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Genevieve over time
The chart below shows babies named Genevieve registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Genevieve, the clearest high point is 2012. The latest England and Wales figure is 67 births in 2024, compared with 117 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Genevieve by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Genevieve was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #521 | 387 | 5 |
| 2010s | #453 | 962 | 10 |
| 2000s | #462 | 776 | 10 |
| 1990s | #444 | 268 | 4 |
Geography
Where Genevieve is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Genevieve. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.
Genevieve ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #407 in 2024.
Across the UK
Genevieve in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#476 in 2024
26 years of NRS records, 122 total registered
Northern Ireland (NISRA)
#407 in 2024
5 years of NISRA records, 19 total registered
Notable bearers
Famous people named Genevieve
-
Genevieve Somerville
figure skater
figure skater
2002-
-
Genevieve Chenneour
actor; synchronized swimmer
actress and former Team GB artistic swimmer
1997-
-
Genevieve Gaunt
actor; film actor
Dutch-British actress
1991-
-
Genevieve Murphy
composer
Peerage person ID=650726
1988-
-
Genevieve Barr
actor
English actress
1985-
-
Genevieve Chapman
(born 1984)
1984-
-
Genevieve Cogman
writer; novelist; role-playing game designer
novelist and game designer
1972-
-
Genevieve Warwick
art historian
born:1961-04-22|; Warwick, Genevieve, 1961-
1961-
Related
Names similar to Genevieve
- Grace 79,208
- Georgia 48,838
- Gracie 18,387
- Georgina 15,599
- Gabriella 10,902
- Gemma 8,350
- Gabrielle 7,154
- Georgie 4,883
- Gabriela 3,300
- Gracie-Mae 1,727
- Greta 1,283
- Gloria 1,279
FAQ
Genevieve: questions and answers
How popular is the name Genevieve in the UK right now?
In 2024, Genevieve was ranked #583 for girls in England and Wales, with 67 births registered.
When was Genevieve most popular?
The peak year on record was 2012, with 117 babies registered as Genevieve in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Genevieve?
A feminine name of French origin meaning "white wave" or "white path".
How many people are called Genevieve in the UK?
A total of 2,393 babies have been registered as Genevieve across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 122 more in Scotland and 19 in Northern Ireland.
Where is Genevieve most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Genevieve ranks best in Northern Ireland, where it placed #407 in 2024. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.