Janel
A feminine name with French origins, possibly derived from "Jane" or "Jeanne".
Name Census estimates that about 10,732 living Americans carry the first name Janel. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Janel today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Janel births was 1971 (429 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Janel. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Janel with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
11K
~ 1 in 31,938 Americans
Peak year
1971
429 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
1989 SSA rank
#7,039
Tracked since 1933
Census
Janel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 11,105 people with the first name Janel, which placed it at #2,311 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
#2,311
National first-name rank
People counted
11K
11,105 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
62.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Janel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Janel is White at 62.8%. The next largest groups are Black (16.3%) and Hispanic (13.4%). 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 Janel 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 Janel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.8% · 6,970
- Black or African American16.3% · 1,808
- Hispanic or Latino13.4% · 1,483
- Two or more races3.5% · 392
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.3% · 367
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 85
Gender
Gender distribution for Janel
Out of the 12,047 babies given the name Janel since 1880, 99.7% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Janel as a male name
- Ranked #7,374 in 1989
- 6 male births in 1989
- Peak: 1983 (6 births)
Janel as a female name
- Ranked #7,039 in 2024
- 16 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1971 (424 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Janel leans strongly female. 10,957 people counted with this name were female (98.6%), compared with 152 male bearers (1.4%).
Popularity
Janel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Janel from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 3,676 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Janel 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 Janel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Janels live
The SSA's state-level files cover 38 states and territories. California, New York, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Janel, while Nevada, Connecticut, Oklahoma recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 226 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Janel
Janel is a feminine given name with roots in the French language. It is believed to have originated as a diminutive or pet form of the French name Jeanne, which itself is derived from the Hebrew name Yohanan, meaning "God is gracious."
The name Janel first gained popularity in France during the Middle Ages, particularly in the regions of Normandy and Brittany. Its earliest recorded use can be traced back to the 13th century, where it appeared in various historical records and documents from that period.
In terms of historical references, the name Janel is not extensively documented in ancient texts or religious scriptures. However, it is worth noting that the related name Jeanne has a strong connection to the Catholic faith, as it was the name of St. Joan of Arc, the famous French heroine and Catholic saint who lived from 1412 to 1431.
Among the earliest recorded individuals with the name Janel is Janel de Wavrin, a 14th-century French noblewoman from the county of Artois. Another notable figure is Janel de Coutances, a 16th-century French poet and writer who was born in the city of Coutances in Normandy.
Throughout history, several other individuals have borne the name Janel, including:
1. Janel Moloney (born 1969), an American actress known for her roles in television shows like "The West Wing" and "Alpha House."
2. Janel Parrish (born 1988), an American actress and singer, best known for her role in the television series "Pretty Little Liars."
3. Janel Broderick (born 1962), an American actress and voice artist, known for her work in various animated series and video games.
4. Janel Leppin (born 1966), an American author and illustrator of children's books, including the "Olive" series.
5. Janel World (born 1988), an American professional wrestler and former model.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the name Janel throughout history, highlighting its enduring presence across various cultures and professions.
People
Janel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Janel 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
Janel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Janel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10,732 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Janel 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 31,938 US residents.
Is Janel a common name?
We classify Janel as "Uncommon". It ranks above 97.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 12,047 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Janel most popular?
The single biggest year for Janel was 1971, when 429 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Janel is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Janel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 11,105 people with the name Janel, or 3.68 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,311 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 Janel 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 Janel?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Janel leans strongly female. 10,957 people counted with this name were female (98.6%), compared with 152 male bearers (1.4%). 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 Janel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Janel is White at 62.8%. The next largest groups are Black (16.3%) and Hispanic (13.4%). 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 Janel most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Janel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.8% (6,970 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 Janel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Janel a female name?
Yes, 99.7% of people registered as Janel 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 Janel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Janel 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 Janel 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 Janel?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.