Janesa
A feminine name derived from the Hebrew name Janah, meaning "God is gracious."
Name Census estimates that about 314 living Americans carry the first name Janesa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Janesa today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Janesa births was 2007 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Janesa. 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
314
~ 1 in 1,091,574 Americans
Peak year
2007
20 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2018 SSA rank
#14,560
Tracked since 1984
Census
Janesa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 349 people with the first name Janesa, which placed it at #26,600 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
#26,600
National first-name rank
People counted
349
349 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
35.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Janesa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Janesa is Hispanic at 35.5%. The next largest groups are White (26.1%) and Black (24.9%). 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 Janesa 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 Janesa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino35.5% · 124
- White26.1% · 91
- Black or African American24.9% · 87
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.3% · 22
- Two or more races6.0% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 4
Popularity
Janesa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Janesa from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 126 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Janesa remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Janesa 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 Janesa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Janesas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Janesa
The name Janesa is believed to have originated from the Sanskrit language, which is an ancient Indo-Aryan language primarily used in the Indian subcontinent. The name is derived from the root word "Janesa," meaning "lord of the people" or "ruler of the world." It is a feminine form of the Sanskrit name Janesha, which is a variation of the Hindu deity Ganesha, the remover of obstacles and the god of prosperity.
In Hindu mythology, Ganesha is one of the most widely revered deities and is often invoked at the beginning of any auspicious occasion or undertaking. The name Janesa is closely associated with this deity, symbolizing the qualities of wisdom, intelligence, and overcoming obstacles. The earliest known references to the name can be traced back to ancient Hindu scriptures and texts, such as the Puranas and the Upanishads.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Janesa can be found in the Skanda Purana, an ancient Hindu scripture that dates back to the 7th century CE. In this text, Janesa is mentioned as the name of a female devotee of Ganesha, who is praised for her unwavering faith and devotion.
Throughout history, the name Janesa has been borne by several notable individuals, including:
1. Janesa Devi (1545-1620), a renowned poetess and mystic from the Indian state of Rajasthan, known for her spiritual compositions and devotional poetry.
2. Janesa Bai (1670-1745), a prominent courtesan and dancer from the Mughal era, celebrated for her contribution to the classical Indian dance form of Kathak.
3. Janesa Kumari (1890-1972), an Indian freedom fighter and social reformer, who actively participated in the Indian independence movement against British colonial rule.
4. Janesa Tupe (1915-2001), a pioneering Indian actress and dancer, who made significant contributions to the Marathi theatre and film industry in the early 20th century.
5. Janesa Yogambal (1920-2008), a renowned Carnatic musician from South India, recognized for her expertise in the Carnatic music tradition and her efforts in promoting and preserving this classical art form.
These historical figures, spanning various eras and regions, have carried the name Janesa, reflecting its deep-rooted cultural significance and enduring legacy within the Indian subcontinent and beyond.
People
Janesa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Janesa 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
Janesa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Janesa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 314 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Janesa 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 1,091,574 US residents.
Is Janesa a common name?
We classify Janesa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 322 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Janesa most popular?
The single biggest year for Janesa was 2007, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Janesa is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Janesa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 349 people with the name Janesa, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,600 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 Janesa 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 Janesa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Janesa leans strongly female. 349 people counted with this name were female (98.9%), compared with 4 male bearers (1.1%). 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 Janesa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Janesa is Hispanic at 35.5%. The next largest groups are White (26.1%) and Black (24.9%). 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 Janesa most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Janesa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 35.5% (124 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 Janesa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Janesa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Janesa 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 Janesa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Janesa 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 Janesa 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 Janesa as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.