Gene is the short form of Eugene, which comes from the Greek eugenes and means "well-born" or "noble". The dancer Gene Kelly, the actor Gene Hackman and the Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry made it a familiar stand-alone name in 20th-century America. Gene ranked number 1132 in 2000, reached number 1103 in 2001 and has stayed outside the top 1000 since, ranking number 2238 in 2025.