Janney
A feminine name of uncertain origin potentially derived from Jane.
Name Census estimates that about 997 living Americans carry the first name Janney. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Janney today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Janney births was 2013 (224 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Janney. 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
997
~ 1 in 343,786 Americans
Peak year
2013
224 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,903
Tracked since 1947
Census
Janney in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 588 people with the first name Janney, which placed it at #18,347 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
#18,347
National first-name rank
People counted
588
588 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
75.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Janney
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Janney is Hispanic at 75.3%. The next largest groups are White (14.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (6.6%). 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 Janney 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 Janney at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino75.3% · 443
- White14.5% · 85
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.6% · 39
- Black or African American2.9% · 17
- Two or more races0.7% · 4
Popularity
Janney: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Janney from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 668 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Janney remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Janney 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 Janney during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Janneys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. California, Texas, Illinois recorded the most babies named Janney, while Washington, New York, Nevada recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 66 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Janney
The given name Janney is believed to have originated from the French language. It is derived from the medieval French name Jeanne, which was a feminine form of the name Jean. This, in turn, traces its roots back to the Hebrew name Yohanan, meaning "Graced by God" or "God is gracious."
Janney was a popular name during the Middle Ages in France and other parts of Europe. It gained widespread usage after the rise of Christianity in the region, as many biblical names became fashionable. The name Jeanne was borne by several notable figures in French history, including Joan of Arc, the celebrated heroine who played a pivotal role in the Hundred Years' War.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Janney can be found in the 13th century. Janney de Warenne was an English noblewoman who lived during the reign of King Henry III. She was the daughter of William de Warenne, Earl of Surrey, and held significant landholdings in her own right.
In the 14th century, Janney de Valois was a French noblewoman and a member of the House of Valois, which ruled France from 1328 to 1589. She was the daughter of King Philip VI of France and played a role in the dynastic struggles of the time.
During the Renaissance period, Janney Fitzalan was an English courtier and lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth I. She was born in 1537 and was known for her literary talents and her involvement in the intellectual circles of the Elizabethan era.
In the 17th century, Janney de Montfort was a French aristocrat and a prominent figure in the court of King Louis XIV. She was born in 1638 and was known for her patronage of the arts and her influential role in the cultural life of the time.
Janney Austen was an English author and the sister of the renowned novelist Jane Austen. She was born in 1775 and is remembered for her own literary works, as well as her close relationship with her famous sibling.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the given name Janney. While the name has origins in French and Hebrew, it has been used across various cultures and time periods, reflecting its enduring appeal and historical significance.
People
Janney + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Janney 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
Janney: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Janney?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 997 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Janney 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 343,786 US residents.
Is Janney a common name?
We classify Janney as "Very Rare". It ranks above 90.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,006 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Janney most popular?
The single biggest year for Janney was 2013, when 224 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Janney is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Janney in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 588 people with the name Janney, or 0.19 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,347 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 Janney 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 Janney?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Janney leans strongly female. 562 people counted with this name were female (95.7%), compared with 25 male bearers (4.3%). 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 Janney?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Janney is Hispanic at 75.3%. The next largest groups are White (14.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (6.6%). 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 Janney most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Janney in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.3% (443 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 Janney in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Janney a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Janney 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 Janney still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Janney 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 Janney 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 are named Janney?
Want to know how many people share the name Janney? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.