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

Janney, 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 Janney surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Janney in America

Janney is the 12557th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Janney surname appeared 2,466 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Janney.

We can also compare 2010 data for Janney 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 Janney

The surname Janney is of English origin and is derived from the Old English word "gennian," meaning "to beget" or "to produce." It is believed to have originated as a baptismal name for the son of John or Jean.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Gennige." This suggests that the name was already in use by the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066.

In the 13th century, the name is recorded as "Janney" in the Hundred Rolls of Buckinghamshire, which were census records compiled during the reign of King Edward I.

The Janney family is known to have been based in the county of Buckinghamshire, England, particularly in the towns of Iver and Wexham. The name is also associated with the village of Janney in Shropshire, which may have been named after the family or vice versa.

In the 16th century, a prominent member of the Janney family was Thomas Janney (1548-1622), who served as the Mayor of Reading, Berkshire, in 1607.

Another notable figure was Benjamin Janney (1682-1762), a Quaker minister from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who was an early advocate for the abolition of slavery in the American colonies.

In the 19th century, Samuel Janney (1801-1880) was a Quaker historian and author from Virginia, best known for his work "The Life of William Penn."

Joseph Janney (1743-1812) was a prominent Virginia planter and revolutionary soldier who served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.

Lastly, Eli Janney (1831-1912) was an American inventor and businessman from Virginia, credited with designing and patenting one of the first refrigerated freight cars for transporting perishable goods.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Janney

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

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

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

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