How popular is the baby name Gentree in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Gentree.

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Popularity of the baby name Gentree


Posts that mention the name Gentree

Interesting one-hit wonder names in the U.S. baby name data

single flower

They came, they went, and they never came back!

These baby names are one-hit wonders in the U.S. baby name data. That is, they’ve only popped up once, ever, in the entire dataset of U.S. baby names (which accounts for all names given to at least 5 U.S. babies per year since 1880).

There are thousands of one-hit wonders in the dataset, but the names below have interesting stories behind their single appearance, so these are the one-hits I’m writing specific posts about. Just click on a name to read more.

2020s

  • 2020: Jexi

2010s

2000s

1990s

1980s

1970s

1960s

1950s

1940s

1930s

1920s

1910s

1900s

  • (none yet)

1890s

As I discover (and write about) more one-hit wonders in the data, I’ll add the names/links to this page. In the meanwhile, do you have any favorite one-hit wonder baby names?

Image: Adapted from Solitary Poppy by Andy Beecroft under CC BY-SA 2.0.

[Latest update: Apr. 2024]

Where did the baby name Jentree come from in 2018?

Oklahoma toddler Jentree Joles
Jentree Joles

The names Jentree and Gentree both debuted in the U.S. baby name data in 2018:

Girls named JentreeGirls named Gentree
20207.
20197.
201814*6*
2017..
2016..
*Debut

Where did they come from?

A viral video!

The original spelling of the name, Gentry, has seen regular usage (as a girl name) since the 1970s and has given rise to a handful of variants (such as Gentrie, Gentri, Jentry, Jentri, and Jentrie).

But the spellings Jentree and Gentree didn’t pop up until a video featuring 2-year-old Jentree Joles of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, began trending.

A one-minute clip of Jentree Joles getting emotional while watching the movie The Good Dinosaur (2015) — specifically, the part where a young dinosaur became separated from his family — was posted to social media by her aunt in September of 2017.

The video racked up nearly a million views overnight. By the time Jentree and her family were featured on the local news several weeks later (Oct. 6), the video had been viewed 75 million times across several different platforms.

Gentry — both the surname and the vocabulary word — mean the same thing: “nobility of birth or character.” The word can be traced back (via Anglo-Norman French genterie and Old French gentil) to the ancient Roman word gens, which referred to one’s clan or tribe.

The baby name Gentry is particularly popular in a handful of central-ish U.S. states: Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Missouri, Tennessee, and Utah. It’s strongly associated with country music via duo Montgomery Gentry and singer-songwriter Bobbie Gentry (whose fame in the late ’60s inspired parents to use “Gentry” as a girl name more often).

What are your thoughts on the baby name Gentry? What spelling do you prefer?

Sources: This 2-year-old girl’s reaction to a movie is making the internet emotional, Video Of BA Toddler’s Emotional Reaction To Movie Seen Nearly 75M Times, Gentry – Online Etymology Dictionary, SSA

Image: Screenshots from Jentree Joles video

The top girl-name debuts of 2018

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The top girl-name debuts in the U.S. baby name data last year were:

Some of the other debuts include: Annifer, Dava, Enzleigh, Katyayani, Lunamae, Mazuri, Attley, Coralena, Loujain, Townes, Gurmehar, Orabella, Vaia, Aerolyn, Elegance, Nyayla, Tillian, Universe, Yosra, Zhaviah, Zyna, Alouette, Anyfer, Bilge, Cardi, Chicago, Elite, Geles, Gentree, Ikora, Lunagrace, Menorah, Modesire, Pyrrha, Riverrose, Siloam, Versace, Willianny, Zelilah, Annajames, Arrowyn, Bellanova, Chancellor, Cloud, Ellanese, Enzo, Erabelle, Ffion, Fiammetta, Foreign, Ixora, Krew, Lunamaria, Mattel, Miqueen, Noir, Novamae, Peru, Sumnima, Tomiris, Uinise, Videlle, York

Zhavia (and Jhavia, and Zaviah) were influenced by singer Zhavia Ward, who was on the TV show The Four in 2018. Do you have explanations for any of the other debuts?

P.S. Wondering what a “debut” name is? Debut names were too rare to appear in the SSA data in any previous year (1880-2017). In order to debut, they need to be given to at least 5 babies of one gender or the other within a single year.

Source: SSA

Image: Adapted from LotusBud0048a (public domain) by Frank “Fg2” Gualtieri