Gene

Where Gene comes from

Wiktionary's etymology listing comes up empty for Gene.

  • 1 syllable
  • Vowel-ended
Gene through the years
  1. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #745 among boys, with 7 babies in the first year on record.
  2. 1892
    Mostly boys from here
    Until now more girls than boys got the name. From this year on, more boys have.
  3. 1930
    Gene Hackman born
    American actor and novelist
  4. 1933
    Gene Wilder born
    American actor
  5. 1937
    Peak, #61
    3,165 babies named Gene, the most in any year.
  6. 1962
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births, down to #201.
In the dictionary
  • A unisex given name.
  • A diminutive of the male given name Eugene, also used as a formal male given name.
  • A female given name, used as a formal female given name.
  • A diminutive of the female given name Genevieve
  • A diminutive of the female given name Eugenia
Namesakes
  • Gene Wilder · American actor, 1933–2016
  • Gene Hackman · American actor and novelist, 1930–2025
  • Gene Kelly · American dancer, actor, singer, director and choreographer, 1912–1996
  • Gene Roddenberry · American television screenwriter and producer, 1921–1991
  • Gene Tierney · American actress, 1920–1991

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.