Janeese
A feminine name derived from Jane, a variant of Joan or Jane.
Name Census estimates that about 86 living Americans carry the first name Janeese. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Janeese today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Janeese births was 1985 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Janeese. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Janeese. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
86
~ 1 in 3,985,516 Americans
Peak year
1985
13 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2009 SSA rank
#18,473
Tracked since 1981
Census
Janeese in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 177 people with the first name Janeese, which placed it at #41,393 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#41,393
National first-name rank
People counted
177
177 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
44.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Janeese
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Janeese is Black at 44.6%. The next largest groups are White (27.7%) and Hispanic (16.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Janeese described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Janeese at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American44.6% · 79
- White27.7% · 49
- Hispanic or Latino16.4% · 29
- Two or more races6.8% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 3
Popularity
Janeese: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Janeese from the 1980s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 39 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Janeese remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Janeese 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 Janeese during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Janeese
The given name Janeese is a relatively modern variation of the more common name Jane, which has its origins in the Old French name Jehane. This name, in turn, is derived from the Hebrew name Yohanan, meaning "Yahweh is gracious." The earliest recorded use of the name Jane dates back to the 13th century in England.
While the name Jane has a rich history spanning centuries, the variant Janeese is a more recent invention, likely emerging in the 20th century. Its precise origin is unclear, but it is speculated to have been created by combining the name Jane with a suffix, possibly inspired by other names ending in -ese, such as Denise or Marquese.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Janeese was Janeese Jackson (born 1951), an American actress and singer known for her roles in various television shows and films, including the 1976 movie "Sparkle."
Another prominent figure with this name is Janeese Lewis George (born 1956), a former professional tennis player from the United States. She reached a career-high ranking of No. 7 in the world and won several titles on the WTA Tour in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
In the world of literature, Janeese Joseph Mukalazi (born 1960) is a Ugandan writer and poet who has authored several collections of poetry and short stories, exploring themes of identity, culture, and social issues.
Janeese Dilone (born 1996) is a contemporary American fashion model and activist who has walked the runway for renowned fashion houses and has used her platform to advocate for social and environmental causes.
Lastly, Janeese Davis (born 1988) is an American professional basketball player who has played in the WNBA for teams such as the Minnesota Lynx and the Atlanta Dream.
While these are some notable individuals with the name Janeese, it is important to note that the name's history is relatively short, and its cultural significance may be limited compared to more ancient and widely used names.
People
Janeese + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Janeese 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
Janeese: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Janeese?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 86 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Janeese 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 3,985,516 US residents.
Is Janeese a common name?
We classify Janeese as "Very Rare". It ranks above 62.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 89 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Janeese most popular?
The single biggest year for Janeese was 1985, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Janeese is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Janeese in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 177 people with the name Janeese, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #41,393 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Janeese in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Janeese?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Janeese leans strongly female. 175 people counted with this name were female (98.3%), compared with 3 male bearers (1.7%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Janeese?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Janeese is Black at 44.6%. The next largest groups are White (27.7%) and Hispanic (16.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Janeese most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Janeese in the 2020 Census, accounting for 44.6% (79 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Janeese in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Janeese a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Janeese 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.
Is Janeese still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Janeese in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Janeese can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people have the name Janeese?
See how many people share the name Janeese on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.