Etymology Explorer › Swedish

Where does “Jenny” come from?

Jenny (Swedish) comes from English Jenny, from English Janet, from English Jane, from French Jeanne, from Old French Jehane, from Medieval Latin Johanna, from Latin Joanna, from Ancient Greek Ἰωάννα — God is gracious.

Ancestry of “Jenny”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishJennyA Wren; A Curtiss JN-4 airplane
2EnglishJanet—
3EnglishJaneA woman, often specifically a girlfriend;...
4FrenchJeanneJane, feminine of John
5Old FrenchJehane—
6Medieval LatinJohanna—
7LatinJoanna—
8Ancient GreekἸωάννα—
9Hebrewיוֹחָנָה—
10HebrewיוֹחָנָןGod is gracious
11HebrewיְהוֹחָנָןGod is gracious
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