The first record of this name comes from records of William the Conqueror's land grants to his supporters during the Conquest of England. The name at that time was De Genez, which indicated a person who came from Genez in Normandy. Over the years the De was dropped and the name was corrupted in Britain to Jeanes. Recently it has been suggested that De Genez did not refer to a place name in Normandy, as might be expected, but instead to Genoa, Italy, making the etymology of this surname the same as the etymology of the jeans in blue jeans (jeans is from Genoa, the fabric having originated in Genoa).
