Janeli
A feminine name of unknown origin and meaning, possibly a variant of Janelle.
Name Census estimates that about 526 living Americans carry the first name Janeli. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Janeli today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Janeli births was 2009 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Janeli. 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
526
~ 1 in 651,624 Americans
Peak year
2009
27 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,672
Tracked since 1989
Census
Janeli in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 380 people with the first name Janeli, which placed it at #25,078 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
#25,078
National first-name rank
People counted
380
380 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
93.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Janeli
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Janeli is Hispanic at 93.9%. The next largest groups are White (3.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.3%). 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 Janeli 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 Janeli at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino93.9% · 357
- White3.4% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 5
- Black or African American1.1% · 4
- Two or more races0.3% · 1
Popularity
Janeli: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Janeli from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 193 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Janeli remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Janeli 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 Janeli during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Janelis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Janeli
The name Janeli is believed to have its roots in the Sanskrit language, originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "janela," which means "window" or "aperture." This connection suggests that the name may have been associated with concepts of openness, clarity, and enlightenment in ancient Indian cultures.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Janeli can be traced back to the Vedic period, around 1500-500 BCE. In the ancient Hindu scriptures known as the Vedas, there are references to a sage or rishi named Janeli, who was renowned for his wisdom and spiritual teachings.
During the medieval period, the name Janeli gained prominence in various regions of the Indian subcontinent. In the 11th century CE, a prominent scholar and poet from the Kannada region of present-day Karnataka was known as Janeli Akka. Her literary works, particularly her vachana (prose-poetry) compositions, have been widely celebrated for their philosophical depth and social commentary.
In the 13th century CE, a Sufi mystic and poet from the Delhi Sultanate, Janeli ud-Din Rumi, gained renown for his profound spiritual verses and teachings. His poetic works, such as the Masnavi, have been influential in both Islamic and non-Islamic spiritual traditions.
Moving forward in history, the name Janeli also appears in the annals of the Maratha Empire in the 17th century CE. Janeli Bai, a skilled warrior and military leader, played a crucial role in the battles against the Mughal forces, earning her a place in the chronicles of Maratha history.
Another notable figure bearing the name Janeli was Janeli Devi, a 19th-century Hindu mystic and spiritual teacher from the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. She was renowned for her devotional poetry and her teachings on the path of bhakti (devotional worship).
These historical examples demonstrate the diverse contexts in which the name Janeli has been used, spanning various regions, religions, and cultural traditions within the Indian subcontinent. While the name may have originated from Sanskrit roots, it has transcended linguistic and cultural boundaries, carrying with it connotations of wisdom, spirituality, and literary excellence.
People
Janeli + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Janeli 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
Janeli: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Janeli?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 526 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Janeli 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 651,624 US residents.
Is Janeli a common name?
We classify Janeli as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 534 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Janeli most popular?
The single biggest year for Janeli was 2009, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Janeli is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Janeli in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 380 people with the name Janeli, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #25,078 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 Janeli 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 Janeli?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Janeli appears almost entirely female. Of the 378 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 Janeli?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Janeli is Hispanic at 93.9%. The next largest groups are White (3.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.3%). 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 Janeli most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Janeli in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.9% (357 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 Janeli in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Janeli a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Janeli 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 Janeli still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Janeli 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 Janeli 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 share the name Janeli?
Find out how many people have the name Janeli on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.