Janeka
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly a variant of Janice.
Name Census estimates that about 237 living Americans carry the first name Janeka. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Janeka today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Janeka births was 1991 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Janeka. 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
237
~ 1 in 1,446,221 Americans
Peak year
1991
20 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2001 SSA rank
#11,436
Tracked since 1974
Census
Janeka in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 237 people with the first name Janeka, which placed it at #34,427 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
#34,427
National first-name rank
People counted
237
237 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
89.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Janeka
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Janeka is Black at 89.9%. The next largest groups are White (3.4%) and Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Janeka 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 Janeka at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American89.9% · 213
- White3.4% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 7
- Two or more races2.1% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 1
Popularity
Janeka: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Janeka from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 108 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Janeka 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 Janeka during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Janekas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Janeka
The name Janeka has its origins in the Sanskrit language, an ancient Indo-Aryan language that served as the root for many modern Indian languages. The name is believed to have emerged during the ancient Vedic period in India, dating back to around 1500 BCE to 500 BCE.
Janeka is derived from the Sanskrit word "Jana," which means "people" or "humanity," and the suffix "-ka," which is often used to form diminutive or affectionate forms of names. Thus, the name Janeka can be interpreted as "little one among the people" or "beloved by the people."
In ancient Hindu texts and scriptures, such as the Vedas and Upanishads, there are references to various deities and celestial beings with names that bear similarities to Janeka. For instance, the name Janakapuri is mentioned in the Ramayana, one of the two major Sanskrit epics, as the capital city of the kingdom ruled by King Janaka.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Janeka can be found in the historical records of the Maurya Empire, which ruled over a significant portion of the Indian subcontinent from around 322 BCE to 185 BCE. During this period, a female warrior named Janeka was said to have served in the army of the Mauryan emperor Chandragupta Maurya.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Janeka. Queen Janeka Devi (1050 CE - 1110 CE) was a prominent ruler of the Chahamana dynasty in the present-day Indian state of Rajasthan. She is renowned for her patronage of the arts, architecture, and literature.
Another significant figure was the Sanskrit scholar and poet Janeka Bhatta (1300 CE - 1370 CE), who authored several works on grammar, philosophy, and poetry during the Vijayanagara Empire in southern India.
In the 16th century, Janeka Devi (1510 CE - 1585 CE) was a well-known Rajput warrior princess from the Mewar region of Rajasthan. She played a crucial role in defending her kingdom against the Mughal Empire's invasion.
During the 18th century, Janeka Ranjit Singh (1720 CE - 1785 CE) was a prominent military commander and statesman who served under the Maratha Empire in central India.
In more recent times, Janeka Kapoor (1875 CE - 1941 CE) was a renowned Indian social reformer and women's rights activist who campaigned tirelessly for the education and empowerment of women in the early 20th century.
People
Janeka + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Janeka 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
Janeka: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Janeka?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 237 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Janeka 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 1,446,221 US residents.
Is Janeka a common name?
We classify Janeka as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 249 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Janeka most popular?
The single biggest year for Janeka was 1991, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Janeka is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Janeka in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 237 people with the name Janeka, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #34,427 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 Janeka 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 Janeka?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Janeka appears almost entirely female. Of the 236 people counted with this name, 99.2% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Janeka?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Janeka is Black at 89.9%. The next largest groups are White (3.4%) and Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Janeka most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Janeka in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.9% (213 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 Janeka in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Janeka a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Janeka 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 Janeka still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Janeka 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 Janeka 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 common is the name Janeka?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.