Jannell
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly meaning "little gracious one".
Name Census estimates that about 782 living Americans carry the first name Jannell. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jannell today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jannell births was 1980 (30 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jannell. 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
782
~ 1 in 438,305 Americans
Peak year
1980
30 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
2017 SSA rank
#16,937
Tracked since 1932
Popularity
Jannell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jannell from the 1930s through to the 2010s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 177 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jannell 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 Jannell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jannells live
Origin
Meaning and history of Jannell
The name Jannell is thought to have its origins in the French language, stemming from the Old French word "janelle," which meant a small window or aperture. This name likely emerged during the Middle Ages in France, between the 5th and 15th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Jannell can be found in historical records from the 12th century, where it was used to refer to a young woman living in the Normandy region of France. The name's connection to a small window or aperture may have been symbolic, representing the idea of a person being a window or gateway to new experiences or perspectives.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Jannell. One such person was Jannell de Montfort, a French noblewoman who lived in the 13th century and was known for her involvement in the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars in southern France.
Another historical figure named Jannell was Jannell d'Arc, a 15th-century French peasant girl who claimed to have received visions from God, inspiring her to lead the French army in several important battles during the Hundred Years' War. Though her name is more commonly spelled as Jeanne, some historical records refer to her as Jannell.
In the 16th century, there was a Jannell de Valois, a French courtier and lady-in-waiting to Queen Catherine de' Medici. She was known for her involvement in the French Renaissance and her patronage of the arts.
Moving to the 17th century, Jannell de La Barre was a French philosopher and writer who was a vocal advocate for religious tolerance and freedom of thought during the Age of Enlightenment.
Finally, in the 19th century, Jannell Durand was a French artist and sculptor who gained recognition for her works depicting scenes from everyday life and her contributions to the Realist movement in art.
While the name Jannell has its roots in the French language and culture, it has since been adopted and used in various other cultures and regions around the world, with its meaning and significance evolving over time.
People
Jannell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jannell 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
Jannell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jannell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 782 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jannell 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 438,305 US residents.
Is Jannell a common name?
We classify Jannell as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 895 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jannell most popular?
The single biggest year for Jannell was 1980, when 30 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jannell is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Jannell a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jannell 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.