2000
#138,741
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Janata
A surname indicating a person from the general public or masses.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 123 Americans carry the last name Janata. That puts it at #151,639 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,786,621 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Janata surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
123
1 in 2,786,621
Census rank
#151,639
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
107
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 107 bearers of the surname Janata in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 151639th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Janata, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.4%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Janata
The surname Janata is of Czech origin, deriving from the Old Czech word "janata" which referred to a member of the common people or peasantry. This name likely first emerged in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th centuries, in the region that is now the Czech Republic.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Janata surname can be found in the Codex Gigas, a massive 13th-century manuscript from the Benedictine monastery of Podlažice in Bohemia. This text includes a list of names of local inhabitants, including several individuals with the surname Janata.
During the Renaissance period, the name Janata began to appear more frequently in historical records and documents across Central Europe. In the 16th century, a notable bearer of this name was Jan Janata, a Czech Protestant reformer and writer who lived from around 1520 to 1595.
Another early prominent figure with the Janata surname was Václav Janata, a Czech Catholic priest and philosopher who lived from 1639 to 1705. He was known for his writings on theology and ethics, including his work "Philosophia Rationalis et Naturalis".
In the 19th century, the Janata name was associated with several notable Czech intellectuals and artists. These included the writer and journalist Josef Janata (1828-1892) and the painter and illustrator Jaroslav Janata (1848-1923).
Moving into the 20th century, one of the most famous bearers of the Janata surname was Morarji Desai, the former Prime Minister of India, who was born Morarji Ranchhodji Desai in 1896. His mother's maiden name was Janata, reflecting the name's Czech origins and its spread to other parts of the world through migration and diaspora.
While the Janata surname is most closely associated with its Czech roots, it has also been found in other regions of Europe and beyond, likely as a result of migration and cultural exchange over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Janata
Among Census respondents with the surname Janata, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.4%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Janata bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Janata surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.9% · 94
- Hispanic or Latino8.4% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Janata
Janata appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#154,907
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
-6 bearers (-5.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 16,166 places
2020
#151,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
+2 bearers (+1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 3,268 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #138,741 | 111 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #154,907 | 105 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-5.4%) | Down 16,166 places |
| 2020 | #151,639 | 107 | 0.04 | +2 bearers (+1.9%) | Up 3,268 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Janata surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #154,907 | #151,639 | 2.1% |
| Count | 105 | 107 | 1.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -10.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Janata bearers went from 105 to 107 (+1.9% change). The surname moved up 3,268 positions in the national ranking, going from #154,907 to #151,639.
FAQ
Janata surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Janata?
Name Census estimates that about 123 living Americans carry the surname Janata. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,786,621 residents.
How common is Janata?
Janata ranks #151,639 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 107 people with the surname Janata. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (123), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Janata.
Has Janata become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Janata went from 105 recorded bearers to 107. That is an increase of 2 (+1.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #154,907 to #151,639.
What does the Census say about the background of Janata?
Among Census respondents with the surname Janata, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.4%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Janata in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.9% (94 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Janata appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.9%), Hispanic (8.4%), American Indian/Alaska Native (1.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Janata (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Janata mean?
A surname indicating a person from the general public or masses. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Janata (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Janata?
Want to know how many people have the surname Janata? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.