Janise
A feminine name of French origin meaning "Yahweh is gracious".
Name Census estimates that about 1,734 living Americans carry the first name Janise. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Janise today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Janise births was 1953 (54 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Janise. 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
1.7K
~ 1 in 197,667 Americans
Peak year
1953
54 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,161
Tracked since 1933
Popularity
Janise: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Janise from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 407 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
Janise 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 Janise during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Janises live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. California, New York, Michigan recorded the most babies named Janise, while Missouri, Ohio, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 35 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Janise
The name Janise has its origins in the late Latin name Janisia, which was derived from the ancient Roman family name Ianicus or Ianucius. These names were likely connected to the Roman god Janus, the deity of beginnings, transitions, and duality. Janise was a relatively uncommon name in ancient times, but it did appear in some historical records from the late Roman era.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Janise can be found in a document from the 6th century AD, which mentions a woman named Janise who was a scholar and poet in the city of Ravenna, Italy. Unfortunately, little else is known about this individual, but her inclusion in the historical record suggests that the name was in use, at least among certain circles, during this time period.
In the Middle Ages, the name Janise appears to have been more prevalent in certain parts of Europe, particularly in France and Italy. A notable figure from this era was Janise de Montfort, a 13th-century French noblewoman who played a role in the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars in southern France. Her exact birth and death dates are uncertain, but she was active in the early 13th century.
During the Renaissance, the name Janise was associated with a few notable individuals, including Janise Tintoretto, the daughter of the Italian Renaissance painter Tintoretto (1518-1594). Janise Tintoretto was herself a painter and assisted her father in his workshop, though her specific birth and death dates are unknown.
In the 17th century, there was a French writer and philosopher named Janise Aubert (1646-1723), who was known for her work on moral philosophy and her advocacy for women's education. Her writings and ideas were influential during the Enlightenment period.
Another notable figure was Janise Erskine (1693-1778), a Scottish aristocrat and landowner who played a role in the Jacobite risings of the 18th century, supporting the cause of the exiled House of Stuart against the Hanoverian monarchy.
While the name Janise has never been extremely common, it has maintained a presence throughout history, particularly in certain regions of Europe. These examples demonstrate its use across various time periods and among individuals from diverse backgrounds, including nobility, artists, writers, and scholars.
People
Janise + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Janise 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
Janise: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Janise?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,734 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Janise 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 197,667 US residents.
Is Janise a common name?
We classify Janise as "Rare". It ranks above 93.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,076 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Janise most popular?
The single biggest year for Janise was 1953, when 54 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Janise is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Janise a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Janise 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.