Jonetta
A feminine diminutive of the given name Joanna, derived from Hebrew meaning "God is gracious".
Name Census estimates that about 720 living Americans carry the first name Jonetta. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jonetta today is around 54 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jonetta births was 1979 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jonetta. 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
720
~ 1 in 476,048 Americans
Peak year
1979
31 babies that year
Average age
54
years old
2002 SSA rank
#12,827
Tracked since 1931
Census
Jonetta in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 739 people with the first name Jonetta, which placed it at #15,530 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
#15,530
National first-name rank
People counted
739
739 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
54.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jonetta
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jonetta is Black at 54.7%. The next largest groups are White (38.0%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Jonetta 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 Jonetta at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American54.7% · 404
- White38.0% · 281
- Two or more races3.9% · 29
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 2
Popularity
Jonetta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jonetta from the 1930s through to the 2000s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 199 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jonetta 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 Jonetta during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jonettas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Illinois, Ohio, Texas recorded the most babies named Jonetta, while Texas, Ohio, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 5 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jonetta
The name Jonetta is a feminine form of the Hebrew name Jonathan, which means "gift from God" or "God has given." It is a combination of the Hebrew elements "Yeho" meaning "God" and "nathan" meaning "to give." The name Jonathan has its roots in the Hebrew Bible, where it was borne by one of the sons of King Saul.
The name Jonetta emerged as a variant spelling in the English language, likely during the 18th or 19th century. It was initially used as a diminutive form of the name Joanna or Joan, which itself is derived from the Hebrew name Yohanan or John.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jonetta can be found in the historical records of the United States. Jonetta Lane (1814-1893) was an American educator and philanthropist from Ohio, who was known for her work in establishing schools for African American children.
Another notable figure was Jonetta Barras (1936-1986), an American artist and author who was known for her children's books and illustrations. Her works included "The Corn Village" and "Peppermint Street," which celebrated African American culture and heritage.
In the realm of sports, Jonetta Renee Bolden (born 1963) is a former track and field athlete from the United States. She won a gold medal in the 4x100 meter relay at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.
Moving to the entertainment industry, Jonetta Patton (born 1942) is an American singer and actress who rose to prominence in the 1960s. She is best known for her roles in Broadway musicals such as "The Wiz" and "Jelly's Last Jam."
Lastly, Jonetta Ann Rose (1936-2018) was a Canadian politician and activist. She was the first Black woman to be elected to the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia, serving from 1975 to 1988 and advocating for social justice and equality.
These individuals, spanning various fields and time periods, have contributed to the rich history and legacy of the name Jonetta, showcasing its enduring appeal and versatility across cultures.
People
Jonetta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jonetta 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
Jonetta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jonetta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 720 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jonetta 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 476,048 US residents.
Is Jonetta a common name?
We classify Jonetta as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 901 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jonetta most popular?
The single biggest year for Jonetta was 1979, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jonetta is about 54 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jonetta in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 739 people with the name Jonetta, or 0.24 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,530 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 Jonetta 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 Jonetta?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jonetta appears almost entirely female. Of the 733 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 Jonetta?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jonetta is Black at 54.7%. The next largest groups are White (38.0%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Jonetta most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Jonetta in the 2020 Census, accounting for 54.7% (404 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 Jonetta in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jonetta a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jonetta 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 Jonetta still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jonetta 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 Jonetta 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 Jonetta as a first name?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Jonetta, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.