Janalee
A feminine name of uncertain origin, potentially combining portions of "Jane" and "Lee."
Name Census estimates that about 823 living Americans carry the first name Janalee. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Janalee today is around 50 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Janalee births was 1962 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Janalee. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
823
~ 1 in 416,469 Americans
Peak year
1962
31 babies that year
Average age
50
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,657
Tracked since 1934
Popularity
Janalee: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Janalee from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 204 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Janalee by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Janalee during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Janalees live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Utah, California, Illinois recorded the most babies named Janalee, while Indiana, Illinois, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 47 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Janalee
The name Janalee is a relatively modern name that does not have a clear historical origin or meaning. It appears to be a combination of two elements: "Jana" and "lee." The first part, "Jana," may be derived from the Sanskrit name "Jñāna," which means "knowledge" or "wisdom." However, this connection is speculative and not well-established.
The second part, "lee," is a common suffix found in many English names, often originating from Old English words like "leah" meaning "meadow" or "clearing." This suffix is frequently used to create feminine names, such as Emily, Ashley, or Courtney.
Despite its lack of a clear historical background, the name Janalee has been used for several individuals throughout the 20th century. One of the earliest recorded instances is Janalee Chmel, an American actress born in 1944. She had a brief acting career in the 1960s and appeared in a few television shows and films.
Another notable person with this name is Janalee Tobias, an American business executive and author. She served as the CEO of Women Employed, a nonprofit organization advocating for women's rights in the workplace. Tobias has written several books on leadership and women's empowerment.
In the field of music, Janalee Rae is a Canadian country music singer and songwriter. She has released several albums and singles since the early 2000s, gaining recognition in the Canadian country music scene.
Janalee Burkhead is an American artist known for her intricate and colorful acrylic paintings. Her works have been exhibited in various galleries across the United States.
Lastly, Janalee Tobias (a different person from the business executive mentioned earlier) is an American entrepreneur and author. She founded the company Spirit Jump, which provides personal and professional development programs.
While the name Janalee does not have a rich historical background or deep cultural roots, it has been adopted by individuals in various fields, from entertainment to business, art, and entrepreneurship. These individuals have contributed to the recognition and popularity of this unique name in modern times.
People
Janalee + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Janalee as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Janalee: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Janalee?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 823 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Janalee going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 416,469 US residents.
Is Janalee a common name?
We classify Janalee as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,033 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Janalee most popular?
The single biggest year for Janalee was 1962, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Janalee is about 50 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Janalee a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Janalee in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.