Jannelle
A feminine name of French origin meaning "little Jane".
Name Census estimates that about 1,087 living Americans carry the first name Jannelle. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jannelle today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jannelle births was 1981 (44 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jannelle. 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
1.1K
~ 1 in 315,321 Americans
Peak year
1981
44 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2023 SSA rank
#9,886
Tracked since 1948
Census
Jannelle in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,153 people with the first name Jannelle, which placed it at #11,241 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
#11,241
National first-name rank
People counted
1.2K
1,153 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
41.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jannelle
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jannelle is White at 41.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (30.9%) and Black (16.5%). 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 Jannelle 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 Jannelle at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White41.5% · 478
- Hispanic or Latino30.9% · 356
- Black or African American16.5% · 190
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.2% · 72
- Two or more races4.2% · 49
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 8
Popularity
Jannelle: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jannelle from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 267 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jannelle 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 Jannelle during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jannelles live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, New York, Florida recorded the most babies named Jannelle, while Michigan, Texas, Pennsylvania recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 39 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jannelle
The name Jannelle finds its roots in the Old French language, originating from the word "janelle," which means "little Jane." It was a diminutive form of the more common name Jane, derived from the Hebrew name Yohanan, meaning "God is gracious."
In the Middle Ages, the name Jannelle was particularly prevalent in the regions of northern France and parts of England, where the Norman influence was strong. It was often used as a feminine variant of the name John, which was widely popular during that time.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jannelle can be found in the 13th-century French text "Le Roman de la Rose," a medieval poem that references a character named Jannelle. This literary work played a significant role in popularizing the name across Europe.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Jannelle. One such figure was Jannelle de Montfort (1292-1349), a French noblewoman and heiress who played a key role in the Breton War of Succession in the 14th century.
Another notable Jannelle was Jannelle de Beaumont (1410-1475), a French courtier and confidante to King Charles VII of France. She was known for her influence in the court and her role in the reconciliation between the king and the Duke of Burgundy during the later stages of the Hundred Years' War.
In the 16th century, Jannelle de Guise (1520-1564) was a prominent figure at the court of King Henry II of France. She was renowned for her beauty and her skills in poetry and music, earning her the admiration of many courtiers and nobles of her time.
Across the English Channel, Jannelle Cary (1584-1629) was an English poet and playwright who gained recognition for her works during the Elizabethan era. Her most famous play, "The Tragedy of Mariam," was one of the first English plays written by a woman.
Lastly, Jannelle d'Aubigné (1670-1719) was a French writer and courtier who served as the governess to the children of King Louis XIV of France. She is remembered for her memoirs, which provide valuable insights into the life and culture of the French court during the reign of the Sun King.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals throughout history who carried the name Jannelle, reflecting its enduring legacy across different cultures and time periods.
People
Jannelle + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jannelle 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
Jannelle: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jannelle?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,087 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jannelle 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 315,321 US residents.
Is Jannelle a common name?
We classify Jannelle as "Rare". It ranks above 90.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,171 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jannelle most popular?
The single biggest year for Jannelle was 1981, when 44 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jannelle is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jannelle in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,153 people with the name Jannelle, or 0.38 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,241 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 Jannelle 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 Jannelle?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jannelle appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,153 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Jannelle?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jannelle is White at 41.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (30.9%) and Black (16.5%). 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 Jannelle most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Jannelle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 41.5% (478 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 Jannelle in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jannelle a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jannelle 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 Jannelle still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jannelle 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 Jannelle 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 Jannelle as a first name?
You can see how many Americans are named Jannelle on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.