Ginger

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records, and ○ marks a model's transliteration; click a spelling to open its page.

Attested across 7 languages in the etymology graph.

Names that people choosing a name often weigh against Ginger, most often first. They share a style rather than an origin.

• Cinnamon
• Pepper
• Saffron
• Cherry
• Honey

From the names suggested together in public name-advice forums, in English. A list of what people consider, not a measure of how common any name is.

Ginger is also recorded as 3 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish given name5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Ecuador, France, Argentina

  Languages: Spanish, French, Portuguese

  Also written Gíngér

• Polish given name8 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia

  Languages: Polish, Russian, Czech

  Also written Гінгер

• Korean given name3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, South Korea, North Korea, United Kingdom

  Also written 진저, Jinjeo

50 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Ginger is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In German, from Middle English gingivere, gyngure, gingere ‘ginger’, hence a metonymic occupational name for a dealer in spices, or possibly a nickname for someone with reddish hair or a fiery temperament.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• ,2 Originally a nickname for someone with red hair, occasionally used as a given name in the 2oth century. As a girl’s name it sometimes also represents a pet form of ) Virginia, as in the case of the 7 I0o0 film star Ginger Rogers, born in 1911 as Virginia McMath.

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• In English, The pungent aromatic rhizome of a tropical Asian herb, Zingiber officinale, used as a spice and as a stimulant and acarminative.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In French, Du mot anglais « ginger »; usage moderne, étymologie nominale.

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

• In French, Diminutif anglais de Virginia; origine latine, « vierge ».

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

• Ginger Rogersb. 1911USAmerican actress and dancer (1911–1995)
• Ginger Bakerb. 1939GBBritish drummer (1939–2019)
• Ginger Lynnb. 1962USAmerican pornographic actress

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

A formal English salutation is built on the surname, so it needs a full name — on its own, a first name only supports the informal form.

49 registers and reference works attest this spelling, across 26 countries.

Register rows as of the 2026-10-09 data build.

What does the name Ginger mean, and where does it come from?

from ME gingivere, gyngure, gingere ‘ginger’; for a dealer in ginger, or possibly a hot-tempered or reddish-haired man; first attested Roger Gingiure 1221 AssGl Recorded by A Dictionary of English Surnames.

What are other forms of the name Ginger?

In the etymology graph, Gina, Virginie and Gena are forms of the same name in other languages.

Is Ginger a male or female name?

Ginger is a female name. National registers that list it by sex list it as female: United States (Census Bureau, 2020), Ecuador (INEC, 2024) and Netherlands (Meertens NVB).

How common is the name Ginger?

In the United States, the national register counted 37,956 people named Ginger in 2020, about 1 in 8.8 thousand residents.

How common is Ginger compared with other names?

In the United States, Ginger is the 758th most common given name of 2,815,431 given names recorded there.

Which countries have the most people named Ginger?

In the United States, the national register counted about 38 thousand people named Ginger, more than in any other country we hold, where it is most often spelled ginger. After it come Ecuador, United Kingdom, Canada and Philippines; the country table on this page ranks them.

Where is Ginger most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Ginger is densest in Ecuador — about 1 in 1.6 thousand people — even though United States holds more of our records for it.