Janes
A feminine diminutive of the name Jane, derived from John.
Name Census estimates that about 163 living Americans carry the first name Janes. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Janes today is around 64 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Janes births was 1928 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Janes. 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
163
~ 1 in 2,102,787 Americans
Peak year
1928
15 babies that year
Average age
64
years old
1985 SSA rank
#6,104
Tracked since 1912
Census
Janes in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,629 people with the first name Janes, which placed it at #8,791 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
#8,791
National first-name rank
People counted
1.6K
1,629 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
73.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Janes
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Janes is White at 73.1%. The next largest groups are Black (15.0%) and Hispanic (6.6%). 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 Janes 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 Janes at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.1% · 1,190
- Black or African American15.0% · 244
- Hispanic or Latino6.6% · 107
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 45
- Two or more races1.9% · 31
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 12
Popularity
Janes: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Janes from the 1910s through to the 1980s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 79 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Janes remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Janes 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 Janes 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 Janes
The given name Janes has its origins rooted in the Latin language, specifically derived from the name Iohannes, which is the Latin form of the Hebrew name Yochanan, meaning "Yahweh is gracious." This name traces its roots back to ancient times, with variants found in various cultures and languages throughout history.
In the early Christian era, the name Iohannes gained widespread popularity due to its association with John the Baptist and John the Apostle, both prominent figures in the New Testament. As Christianity spread across Europe, the name evolved into different forms, such as John in English, Jean in French, and Juan in Spanish.
The variant spelling Janes emerged as a result of linguistic variations and regional dialects. It is likely that this spelling was used in certain regions of Europe, though its exact origin and earliest documented use are difficult to pinpoint with certainty.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Janes can be found in the historical records of medieval England. Janes de Hertford, a cleric and scholar, lived in the 13th century and is known for his contributions to the field of education.
Another notable figure bearing the name Janes is Janes de Vere, an English nobleman and military commander who fought in the Hundred Years' War between England and France in the 14th century.
In the realm of literature, Janes Austen, a renowned English novelist, is widely celebrated for her works such as "Pride and Prejudice" and "Sense and Sensibility." Born in 1775, she is considered one of the most influential writers of the Regency era.
Janes Watt, a Scottish inventor and mechanical engineer, lived from 1736 to 1819 and is best known for his improvements to the steam engine, which played a crucial role in the Industrial Revolution.
Lastly, Janes Cook, an English explorer and navigator, made significant contributions to the exploration of the Pacific Ocean in the 18th century. Born in 1728, he is renowned for his voyages and detailed maps of the regions he explored.
While the name Janes may not be as common as its more widely recognized variants, it holds a rich history and has been borne by individuals who have left an indelible mark across various fields throughout the ages.
People
Janes + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Janes 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
Janes: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Janes?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 163 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Janes 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 2,102,787 US residents.
Is Janes a common name?
We classify Janes as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 358 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Janes most popular?
The single biggest year for Janes was 1928, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Janes is about 64 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Janes in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,629 people with the name Janes, or 0.54 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,791 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 Janes 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 Janes?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Janes leans strongly male. 1,427 people counted with this name were male (87.4%), compared with 206 female bearers (12.6%). 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 Janes?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Janes is White at 73.1%. The next largest groups are Black (15.0%) and Hispanic (6.6%). 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 Janes most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Janes in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.1% (1,190 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 Janes in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Janes a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Janes in the SSA data are male. 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 Janes still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Janes 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 Janes 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 Janes?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Janes, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.