girls' name ★ peaked 1954

Janet

Meaning From Jane +‎ -et, q Gender Girl Rank 2025 #2,791 Trend ↓ Falling 36%

From Jane +‎ -et, q.v. Chiefly Scottish until the 19th century.

Rank 2025
#2,791
among girls · ↓343 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
61
named Janet · -18% vs 2024
How common
1 in 26,349
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1954
18,507 babies
All-time total
558,291
#54 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Janet popularity over time

558,291 babies have been named Janet 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
3.757.511.251518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
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 461 – 461 46 – #272
1890s 898 – 898 90 +95% #269
1900s 1,541 – 1,541 154 +72% #226
1910s 10,713 11 10,724 1,072 +596% #126
1920s 23,973 47 24,020 2,402 +124% #82
1930s 76,038 280 76,318 7,632 +218% #16
1940s 130,755 338 131,093 13,109 +72% #18
1950s 167,520 309 167,829 16,783 +28% #18
1960s 89,315 234 89,549 8,955 -47% #32
1970s 24,454 98 24,552 2,455 -73% #96
1980s 13,520 151 13,671 1,367 -44% #172
1990s 9,660 47 9,707 971 -29% #223
2000s 5,501 – 5,501 550 -43% #412
2010s 1,906 – 1,906 191 -65% #890
2020s (to 2025) 521 – 521 87 -54% #1,923

Where Janet 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 56 0.03 outside top 500
2027 52 0.03 outside top 500
2028 49 0.03 outside top 500
2029 47 0.03 outside top 500
2030 45 0.03 outside top 500

Where Janet is most popular

Girls named Janet per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.053 per 1,000. Strongest in California, New York, and Texas.

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 Janet 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
California 81 0.096 +83%
New York 33 0.083 +58%
Texas 47 0.058 +11%
Indiana 7 0.050 -5%
Tennessee 5 0.032 -40%
Illinois 5 0.022 -59%
Florida 5 0.012 -78%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Georgia – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Michigan – – –
Minnesota – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Carolina – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Jersey – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Ohio – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Pennsylvania – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Virginia – – –
Vermont – – –
Washington – – –
Wisconsin – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

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 Janet

Janet is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #2,791 in 2025 with 61 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 558,291 American babies have been named Janet. Its peak came in 1954, when 18,507 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1950s.

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 Janet stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Janet?

The median living Janet is about 70 years old; half are between 62 and 77. An estimated 380 thousand people named Janet are alive in the United States today.

median 70 020406080100

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

Janet 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 61 #2,791 – –
2024 74 #2,448 – –
2023 97 #2,027 – –
2022 104 #1,923 – –
2021 92 #2,078 – –
2020 93 #2,011 – –
2019 123 #1,704 – –
2018 159 #1,408 – –
2017 171 #1,358 – –
2016 162 #1,427 – –
2015 155 #1,481 – –
2014 168 #1,378 – –
2013 189 #1,261 – –
2012 212 #1,160 – –
2011 269 #953 – –
2010 298 #890 – –
2009 353 #805 – –
2008 415 #718 – –
2007 449 #660 – –
2006 523 #562 – –
2005 512 #562 – –
2004 672 #452 – –
2003 565 #508 – –
2002 630 #457 – –
2001 696 #412 – –
2000 686 #412 – –
1995 928 #298 6 #8,243
1990 1,285 #223 9 #5,559
1985 1,242 #207 15 #3,131
1980 1,609 #172 13 #3,334
1975 1,950 #139 6 #5,075
1970 4,158 #96 10 #3,161
1965 7,654 #55 23 #1,645
1960 14,250 #32 25 #1,641
1955 17,920 #20 28 #1,471
1950 16,193 #18 30 #1,328
1945 12,326 #20 36 #1,092
1940 10,105 #19 39 #1,038
1935 7,856 #22 30 #1,236
1930 4,602 #53 11 #2,524
1925 2,428 #111 10 #2,845
1920 2,057 #124 – –
1915 1,173 #158 – –
1910 296 #217 – –
1905 154 #263 – –
1900 108 #326 – –
1895 92 #302 – –
1890 76 #287 – –
1885 46 #294 – –
1880 28 #299 – –

Famous people named Janet

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

  1. 1 Janet Jackson Janet Jackson American singer, songwriter, and dancer (born 1966) Contemporary
  2. 2 Janet Leigh Janet Leigh American actress and author (1927–2004) Contemporary
  3. 3 Janet McTeer Janet McTeer English actress (born 1961) Contemporary
  4. 4 Janet Yellen Janet Yellen American economist and government official (born 1946) Contemporary
  5. 5 Janet Montgomery Janet Montgomery British actress (born 1985) Contemporary
  6. 6 Janet Reno Janet Reno American lawyer and public official (1938–2016) Contemporary
  7. 7 Janet Gaynor Janet Gaynor American actress (1906–1984) Contemporary
  8. 8 Janet Napolitano Janet Napolitano American politician (born 1957) Contemporary
  9. 9 Janet Margolin Janet Margolin American actress (1943–1993) Contemporary
  10. 10 Janet Evanovich Janet Evanovich American writer (born 1943) Contemporary
  11. 11 Janet Mock Janet Mock American writer, TV host, director, and activist (born 1983) Contemporary
  12. 12 Janet Waldo Janet Waldo American actress (1919/1920–2016) Contemporary
  13. 13 Janet Suzman British actress (born 1939) Contemporary
  14. 14 Janet Frame Janet Frame New Zealand author (1924–2004) Contemporary
  15. 15 Janet Blair Janet Blair American singer and actress (1921–2007) Contemporary
  16. 16 Janet Jagan Janet Jagan President of Guyana from 1997 to 1999 1920–2009 · Contemporary
  17. 17 Janet Asimov Janet Asimov American author, psychiatrist, psychoanalyst (1926–2019) Contemporary
  18. 18 Janet Evans Janet Evans American swimmer (born 1971) Contemporary
  19. 19 Janet Baker Janet Baker English mezzo-soprano (born 1933) Contemporary
  20. 20 Janet Ågren Janet Ågren Swedish actress and model b. 1949 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Janet?

The median living Janet is about 70 years old. Half of all living Janets are between 62 and 77 years old.

How many people named Janet are alive today?

An estimated 380 thousand people named Janet are alive in the United States, based on 558,291 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Janet mean?

From Jane +‎ -et, q.v. Chiefly Scottish until the 19th century.

How popular is the name Janet in 2025?

Janet ranked #2,791 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 61 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Janet?

558,291 babies have been named Janet in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Janet most popular?

Janet peaked in 1954, when 18,507 newborns received the name.

Is Janet a boy or girl name?

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

Is the name Janet rising or falling?

Janet is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Janet become more popular?

Janet is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 45 girls named Janet in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Janet?

Well-known people named Janet include Janet Jackson (singer), Janet Leigh (actor), Janet McTeer (actor).

Names like Janet

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

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