Find out how popular the last name Janet is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Janet.

Janet, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Janet surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Janet in America

Janet is the 48347th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Janet surname appeared 437 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Janet.

We can also compare 2010 data for Janet to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Janet

The surname Janet is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period, likely in the 12th or 13th century. It is derived from the Latin name "Johannes" or "Johanna," meaning "Jehovah has favored." The name was initially a diminutive form of John or a feminine variant, used as a given name.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Janet can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1273, where it is listed as "Joneta" and "Janeta." Similar spellings such as "Janett" and "Jenet" also appeared in various historical records throughout the Middle Ages.

The surname Janet is thought to have been adopted as a hereditary family name during the late medieval period, particularly in the northern counties of England, such as Yorkshire and Lancashire. Some historians suggest that the name may have originated from a place name, although no definitive evidence has been found to support this theory.

In the 16th century, several notable individuals bore the surname Janet. One such person was William Janet, a Scottish poet and scholar who lived from around 1505 to 1550. Another was John Janet, an English politician and Member of Parliament for Okehampton in 1597.

During the 17th century, the surname Janet continued to appear in various records. For instance, in 1618, a man named Thomas Janet was listed as a freeman of the City of London. Additionally, a prominent figure named Francis Janet was born in Cambridgeshire in 1646 and became a renowned theologian and author.

In the 18th century, the surname Janet was particularly prominent in Scotland. One notable individual was James Janet, a Scottish minister and theologian who lived from 1732 to 1802. He was known for his contributions to the field of philosophy and his influential work, "An Essay on the Principle of Morality."

As the centuries progressed, the surname Janet spread to other parts of the world, including North America and Australia, due to immigration and migration patterns. However, its origins can be traced back to medieval England, where it first emerged as a diminutive of the name John or a feminine variant.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Janet

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Janet.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Janet was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Janet has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Janet was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Janet, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!