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

Janeway, 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 Janeway surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Janeway in America

Janeway is the 28909th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Janeway surname appeared 822 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 Janeway.

We can also compare 2010 data for Janeway 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 Janeway

The surname Janeway originated in England during the Middle Ages. It is a locational name derived from the Old English words "gean" meaning "slender" and "weg" meaning "way" or "path". This suggests that the name likely referred to a slender pathway or a narrow road.

The earliest recorded spelling of the name dates back to 1273 in the Hundred Rolls of Norfolk, where it appears as "Jenewey". Other early spellings include "Janoway" in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1296, and "Janeweye" in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327.

The Janeway surname is also found in various medieval records and documents. One notable mention is in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1379, which lists a "John Janewey" as a landowner. Additionally, the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1428 references a "William Janeway".

The name is closely associated with the village of Janeway in Somerset, England. It is believed that some of the earliest bearers of the surname may have originated from this area or nearby regions.

Throughout history, several individuals with the Janeway surname have achieved notable recognition. One of the earliest was John Janeway (1633-1657), an English Puritan minister and author who wrote the influential book "A Token for Children".

Another prominent figure was James Janeway (1636-1674), an English Puritan minister and author of the popular work "A Token for Children". He was also known for his role in the Great Ejection of 1662, when he was expelled from his church for nonconformity.

In the 18th century, William Janeway (1707-1781) was an English merchant and Member of Parliament for Lyme Regis from 1768 to 1780.

One of the most famous bearers of the name was Jacob Jones Janeway (1778-1858), an American banker and businessman from Philadelphia. He was the founder of the Janeway & Co. bank and served as the President of the Bank of Pennsylvania.

In more recent times, Kate Janeway (1895-1985) was a British politician and the first female Lord Mayor of Norwich, serving from 1951 to 1952.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Janeway

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

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 Janeway 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 Janeway 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 Janeway was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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