Janet
A feminine name derived from the French form of Jane, of uncertain origin.
Name Census estimates that about 316,008 living Americans carry the first name Janet. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Janet today is around 67 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Janet births was 1954 (18,507 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Janet. 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.
Key insights
- • Although Janet is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 1,515 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • The typical person named Janet is about 67 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Janets were born before 1969.
- • Compared to the 1950s, recent registration numbers for Janet have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
316K
~ 1 in 1,085 Americans
Peak year
1954
18,507 babies that year
Average age
67
years old
1995 SSA rank
#2,441
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Janet
Out of the 558,224 babies given the name Janet 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.
Janet as a male name
- Ranked #8,241 in 1995
- 6 male births in 1995
- Peak: 1943 (46 births)
Janet as a female name
- Ranked #2,441 in 2024
- 74 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1954 (18,477 births)
Popularity
Janet: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Janet from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 167,828 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Janet 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 Janet during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Janets live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. New York, California, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Janet, while Alaska, Nevada, Wyoming recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 10,813 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Janet
The name Janet originated from the French variation Jeanette, which is the feminine form of the male name Jean, derived from the Hebrew name Yohanan meaning "Graced by God" or "Yahweh is gracious". The name gained popularity during the Middle Ages in France and eventually spread across Europe.
Janet is thought to have its roots in ancient Hebrew and Biblical texts, with the name Yohanan appearing in various forms throughout the Old Testament. One of the earliest recorded uses of the name in its modern form can be found in the Domesday Book, a manuscript compiled in 1086 by order of William the Conqueror, which mentions a landowner named Janneta.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Janet. One of the earliest was Janet Beaufort (1399-1472), a Scottish princess who played a significant role in the Wars of the Roses. Another influential figure was Janet Erskine (1508-1572), a Scottish noblewoman and religious reformer who was a confidante of Mary, Queen of Scots.
In the realm of literature, Janet Lewis (1899-1998) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer who received numerous accolades, including the Frost Medal from the Poetry Society of America. The name also has a place in the world of science, with Janet Taylor Lisle (1936-2001) being a prominent American virologist known for her contributions to the study of viruses and their role in cancer.
In the 20th century, Janet Flanner (1892-1978) was an American writer and journalist best known for her work as the Paris correspondent for The New Yorker magazine under the pen name "Genêt". Her vivid descriptions of Parisian life and culture during the interwar period and World War II are considered literary masterpieces.
While these are just a few examples, the name Janet has been carried by countless individuals throughout history, each leaving their unique mark on the world in various fields and disciplines.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Janet
People
Janet + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Janet 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
Janet: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Janet?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 316,008 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Janet 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 1,085 US residents.
Is Janet a common name?
We classify Janet as "Common". It ranks above 99.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 558,224 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Janet most popular?
The single biggest year for Janet was 1954, when 18,507 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Janet is about 67 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Janet a female name?
Yes, 99.7% of people registered as Janet 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.
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.