Janey last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Janey

An English surname derived from a nickname form of Jane.

Janey, 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 Janey surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Janey in America

Janey is the 34110th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Janey surname appeared 666 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 Janey.

We can also compare 2010 data for Janey 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 34110 34599 -1.42%
Count 666 619 7.32%
Proportion per 100k 0.23 0.23 0.00%

The history of the last name Janey

The surname Janey is of English origin, derived from the medieval personal name Jane, which itself is derived from the Old French name Johane or Jehanne, meaning "God is gracious." This name ultimately traces its roots back to the Hebrew name Yohanan, meaning "Yahweh is gracious."

The earliest recorded instances of the Janey surname date back to the late 13th century in various parts of England, particularly in the counties of Cheshire, Derbyshire, and Staffordshire. It is believed that the surname may have originated as a patronymic, indicating "son of Jane," with the addition of the suffix "-ey" denoting a place of origin or residence.

In medieval England, the Janey surname appeared in various historical records, including the Subsidy Rolls of Staffordshire from 1327, which mention a Richard Janeye. The Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1379 also list a John Jany, indicating the surname's early presence in different regions of the country.

Notable individuals bearing the Janey surname throughout history include Richard Janey (c. 1460-1530), a prominent English landowner and member of the gentry from Derbyshire. Another notable figure was William Janey (1620-1687), a renowned Puritan minister and author who served as the rector of St. Martin's Church in Salisbury.

In the 17th century, the Janey surname was also found in the American colonies, with records indicating the presence of a Thomas Janey in Virginia as early as 1635. This suggests that some members of the Janey family were among the early English settlers in the New World.

Other individuals of note include Sarah Janey (1785-1862), a celebrated English novelist and poet, and James Janey (1810-1895), a Scottish architect and civil engineer who contributed significantly to the design of several notable bridges and railways in the United Kingdom.

The Janey surname has also been associated with various place names in England, such as the village of Janey Green in Staffordshire, which may have derived its name from a prominent Janey family residing in the area during medieval times.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Janey

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

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 Janey was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 63.51% 423
Non-Hispanic Black Only 28.23% 188
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 4.35% 29
Hispanic Origin 2.40% 16

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 Janey has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 63.51% 64.30% -1.24%
Black 28.23% 29.73% -5.18%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 4.35% 2.91% 39.67%
Hispanic 2.40% 1.94% 21.20%

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

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

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"Janey last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/janey-surname-popularity/.

"Janey last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/janey-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 December, 2024

Janey last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/janey-surname-popularity/.

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