girls' name ★ peaked 1947

Jane

Gender Girl Rank 2025 #221 Trend → Stable

Variant of Jeanne, from French Jeanne, from Middle French Jehanne, from Medieval Latin Johanna, variant of Latin Ioanna under influence from Latin Iōhannēs, from Koine…

Rank 2025
#221
among girls · ↑48 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
1,380
named Jane · +16% vs 2024
How common
1 in 1,165
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1947
9,961 babies
All-time total
381,009
#93 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Jane popularity over time

381,009 babies have been named Jane since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
1.883.755.637.518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 2,971 – 2,971 297 – #91
1890s 3,882 – 3,882 388 +31% #102
1900s 4,498 10 4,508 451 +16% #116
1910s 27,740 74 27,814 2,781 +517% #53
1920s 48,049 181 48,230 4,823 +73% #47
1930s 45,814 211 46,025 4,603 -5% #42
1940s 72,537 227 72,764 7,276 +58% #35
1950s 82,919 176 83,095 8,310 +14% #39
1960s 43,340 115 43,455 4,346 -48% #67
1970s 9,483 48 9,531 953 -78% #202
1980s 7,439 64 7,503 750 -21% #290
1990s 6,691 22 6,713 671 -11% #346
2000s 7,123 5 7,128 713 +6% #386
2010s 10,278 – 10,278 1,028 +44% #277
2020s (to 2025) 7,112 – 7,112 1,185 +15% #221

Where Jane is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 1,405 0.87 #218
2027 1,426 0.89 #213
2028 1,444 0.90 #210
2029 1,460 0.91 #208
2030 1,474 0.92 #207

Where Jane is most popular

Girls named Jane per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.733 per 1,000. Strongest in Utah, District of Columbia, and Idaho.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Jane born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Utah 354 4.25 +481%
District of Columbia 36 3.04 +315%
Idaho 101 3.02 +312%
Montana 24 1.77 +142%
Oregon 96 1.47 +101%
Maine 22 1.42 +94%
Wyoming 6 1.41 +92%
Nebraska 50 1.39 +90%
Louisiana 112 1.28 +75%
Washington 173 1.20 +63%
Minnesota 126 1.17 +59%
Alaska 10 1.16 +59%
Tennessee 183 1.16 +58%
Colorado 128 1.15 +57%
South Carolina 100 1.11 +52%
Indiana 155 1.10 +51%
Virginia 180 1.06 +44%
Massachusetts 127 1.05 +43%
Missouri 125 1.04 +42%
Oklahoma 76 1.03 +41%
Kansas 59 1.02 +40%
Alabama 94 1.00 +37%
Michigan 178 0.977 +33%
Delaware 11 0.970 +32%
Pennsylvania 229 0.969 +32%
New Hampshire 17 0.921 +26%
Arkansas 48 0.908 +24%
Iowa 53 0.907 +24%
Ohio 215 0.906 +24%
Mississippi 42 0.898 +23%
Illinois 205 0.895 +22%
Kentucky 76 0.889 +21%
Maryland 92 0.868 +19%
Connecticut 50 0.859 +17%
Arizona 117 0.834 +14%
Wisconsin 85 0.825 +13%
North Carolina 186 0.817 +12%
South Dakota 11 0.771 +5%
North Dakota 10 0.761 ≈ national
New York 284 0.717 ≈ national
Georgia 160 0.704 ≈ national
California 552 0.657 -10%
New Jersey 113 0.626 -15%
Texas 455 0.566 -23%
Rhode Island 7 0.559 -24%
Florida 239 0.559 -24%
West Virginia 14 0.534 -27%
Hawaii 6 0.523 -29%
Nevada 23 0.495 -32%
New Mexico 7 0.288 -61%
Vermont – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Jane

Jane is moderately common for girls in the United States, ranked #221 in 2025 with 1,380 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 381,009 American babies have been named Jane. Its peak came in 1947, when 9,961 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1940s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Jane stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Jane?

The median living Jane is about 69 years old; half are between 59 and 77. An estimated 216 thousand people named Jane are alive in the United States today.

median 69 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Jane year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 1,380 #221 – –
2024 1,186 #269 – –
2023 1,116 #281 – –
2022 1,089 #290 – –
2021 1,172 #266 – –
2020 1,169 #264 – –
2019 1,189 #277 – –
2018 1,133 #290 – –
2017 1,157 #282 – –
2016 1,135 #279 – –
2015 1,112 #290 – –
2014 1,026 #322 – –
2013 898 #357 – –
2012 927 #343 – –
2011 868 #368 – –
2010 833 #385 – –
2009 831 #386 – –
2008 826 #389 – –
2007 775 #424 – –
2006 665 #477 – –
2005 651 #472 – –
2004 657 #459 – –
2003 704 #427 5 #11,652
2002 696 #417 – –
2001 671 #423 – –
2000 647 #437 – –
1995 618 #419 – –
1990 773 #346 8 #6,078
1985 709 #335 9 #4,476
1980 775 #312 – –
1975 782 #300 5 #5,838
1970 1,601 #202 – –
1965 3,927 #95 16 #2,032
1960 6,586 #67 19 #1,880
1955 8,343 #50 17 #1,931
1950 8,964 #39 20 #1,678
1945 7,639 #36 17 #1,658
1940 5,091 #47 29 #1,265
1935 4,646 #43 18 #1,684
1930 4,575 #55 21 #1,625
1925 4,881 #53 24 #1,557
1920 5,054 #48 9 #3,075
1915 3,264 #69 15 #1,924
1910 709 #116 6 #1,504
1905 393 #151 – –
1900 495 #128 – –
1895 394 #119 – –
1890 372 #108 – –
1885 330 #91 – –
1880 215 #98 – –

Famous people named Jane

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Jane Goodall Jane Goodall English zoologist (1934–2025) Contemporary
  2. 2 Jane Fonda Jane Fonda American actress and activist (born 1937) Contemporary
  3. 3 Jane Austen Jane Austen English novelist (1775–1817) 18th century
  4. 4 Jane Seymour Jane Seymour British actress (born 1951) Contemporary
  5. 5 Jane Kaczmarek Jane Kaczmarek American actress (born 1955) Contemporary
  6. 6 Jane Seymour Jane Seymour Queen of England from 1536 to 1537 1508–1537 · 16th century
  7. 7 Jane Birkin Jane Birkin British actress and singer (1946–2023) Contemporary
  8. 8 Jane Lynch Jane Lynch American actress (born 1960) Contemporary
  9. 9 Jane Wyman Jane Wyman American actress (1917–2007) Contemporary
  10. 10 Jane Russell Jane Russell American actress, model, and singer (1921–2011) Contemporary
  11. 11 Jane Hawking English author and teacher (born 1944) Contemporary
  12. 12 Jane Asher Actor, United Kingdom b. 1946 · Contemporary
  13. 13 Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford English noblewoman (c. 1505–1542) 16th century
  14. 14 Jane Alexander Jane Alexander American-Canadian actress (born 1939) Contemporary
  15. 15 Jane Campion Jane Campion New Zealand filmmaker (born 1954) Contemporary
  16. 16 Jane Wyatt Jane Wyatt American actress (1910–2006) Contemporary
  17. 17 Jane Powell Jane Powell American actress (1929–2021) Contemporary
  18. 18 Jane March English actress (born 1973) Contemporary
  19. 19 Jane Addams Jane Addams American activist and reformer (1860–1935) 19th century
  20. 20 Jane Greer Jane Greer American actress (1924–2001) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Jane, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Jane?

The median living Jane is about 69 years old. Half of all living Janes are between 59 and 77 years old.

How many people named Jane are alive today?

An estimated 216 thousand people named Jane are alive in the United States, based on 381,009 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Jane mean?

Variant of Jeanne, from French Jeanne, from Middle French Jehanne, from Medieval Latin Johanna, variant of Latin Ioanna under influence from Latin Iōhannēs, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννα (Iōánna), from Hebrew יוֹחָנָה (Yôḥānāh,…

How popular is the name Jane in 2025?

Jane ranked #221 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 1,380 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Jane?

381,009 babies have been named Jane in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Jane most popular?

Jane peaked in 1947, when 9,961 newborns received the name.

Is Jane a boy or girl name?

Jane is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Jane rising or falling?

Jane is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Jane become more popular?

Jane is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 1,474 girls named Jane in 2030, which would rank around #207. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Jane?

Well-known people named Jane include Jane Goodall (anthropologist), Jane Fonda (actor), Jane Austen (writer).

Names like Jane

Names that sound and feel close to Jane: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Jane with similar names → More names starting with J →