Genevieve
Genevieve is a girls' name of French origin meaning “woman of the people, white wave.” It ranked #148 in the United States in 2025. The patron saint of Paris, Saint Geneviève is said to have saved the city from Attila the Hun through her prayers.
how do you pronounce Genevieve?
ZHEN-uh-vyev
Hear it spoken aloud with our AI pronunciation tool.
what does Genevieve mean?
The name Genevieve means “woman of the people, white wave.” It comes from the French language tradition.
The patron saint of Paris, Saint Geneviève is said to have saved the city from Attila the Hun through her prayers. The name carries deep Parisian roots and a sense of quiet strength. It remains consistently popular in both France and English-speaking countries.
where does the name Genevieve come from?
Wiktionary and Wikipedia agree the origin is disputed between Germanic and Celtic roots, without settling it. Wikipedia's Germanic reading breaks the name Kenowefa into kin, meaning race or tribe, and wefa, woman — woman of the family or of the people. Wiktionary's Celtic alternative instead traces the name to a root meaning family or clan.
how popular is this name?
| Year | Rank |
|---|---|
| 2025 | #148 |
| 2024 | #165 |
| 2023 | #165 |
| 2022 | #165 |
| 2021 | #154 |
| 2020 | #169 |
Source: SSA National Baby Names Dataset
what are the nicknames and variants of Genevieve?
Nicknames
Variants around the world
who are famous people named Genevieve?
- Saint Geneviève (patron saint of Paris)
- Geneviève Bujold (Canadian-French actress)
what names are similar to Genevieve?
what names go well with Genevieve?
Sibling names that share Genevieve's rhythm and register without echoing it too closely.
Last reviewed April 30, 2026 · Curated by HushName editorial
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