Janelli
An unusual feminine name derived from the Italian surname Janelli.
Name Census estimates that about 279 living Americans carry the first name Janelli. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Janelli today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Janelli births was 2007 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Janelli. 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
279
~ 1 in 1,228,510 Americans
Peak year
2007
18 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,588
Tracked since 1988
Census
Janelli in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 272 people with the first name Janelli, which placed it at #31,478 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
#31,478
National first-name rank
People counted
272
272 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
90.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Janelli
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Janelli is Hispanic at 90.8%. The next largest groups are White (2.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.9%). 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 Janelli 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 Janelli at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino90.8% · 247
- White2.9% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.9% · 8
- Black or African American1.8% · 5
- Two or more races1.1% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Popularity
Janelli: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Janelli 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 100 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Janelli remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Janelli 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 Janelli during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Janellis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Janelli
The name Janelli is believed to have originated from the Italian language, with its earliest known roots tracing back to the Renaissance period of the 15th and 16th centuries. It is thought to be a feminine form derived from the Italian masculine name Gianelli, which itself is a diminutive of the name Giovanni, the Italian equivalent of John.
The name Gianelli is believed to have been a patronymic surname in Italy, indicating the bearer was a son or descendant of someone named Giovanni. Over time, the feminine form Janelli emerged as a distinct given name, although its exact origins and etymology are somewhat unclear.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Janelli can be found in the chronicles of the powerful Medici family, who ruled Florence during the Renaissance. In the late 15th century, a woman named Janelli Medici is mentioned as a distant relative of the famous Lorenzo de' Medici, often referred to as Lorenzo the Magnificent.
Another notable bearer of the name was Janelli Torriani, an Italian painter and fresco artist who lived in the 16th century. She was renowned for her vibrant religious works, many of which can still be found adorning the walls of churches and cathedrals throughout Italy.
In the realm of literature, the name Janelli appears in the works of the celebrated Italian poet Dante Alighieri. In his epic poem, the Divine Comedy, Dante makes reference to a character named Janelli, though little is known about the historical significance of this individual.
Moving forward to the 18th century, Janelli Grimaldi was a prominent figure in the Republic of Genoa. Born in 1714, she was a member of the powerful Grimaldi family and played an influential role in the political and social affairs of the city-state.
Finally, in the realm of music, Janelli Boccherini was a noted Italian composer and cellist who lived from 1743 to 1805. Though not as renowned as his contemporary, Luigi Boccherini, Janelli Boccherini is credited with composing several operas and instrumental works that were popular during his lifetime.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Janelli, showcasing the rich cultural heritage and legacy associated with this distinctive Italian moniker.
People
Janelli + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Janelli 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
Janelli: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Janelli?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 279 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Janelli 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 1,228,510 US residents.
Is Janelli a common name?
We classify Janelli as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 283 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Janelli most popular?
The single biggest year for Janelli was 2007, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Janelli 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 Janelli in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 272 people with the name Janelli, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #31,478 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 Janelli 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 Janelli?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Janelli appears almost entirely female. Of the 265 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Janelli?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Janelli is Hispanic at 90.8%. The next largest groups are White (2.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.9%). 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 Janelli most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Janelli in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.8% (247 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 Janelli in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Janelli a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Janelli 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 Janelli still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Janelli 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 Janelli 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 Janelli?
You can see how many people have the name Janelli on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.