Jane
Jane was the 221st most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 1,380 babies. Its best year was 1946, when it ranked 35th; the most babies were born in 1947 (9,943). Over the last ten years it has moved up 69 places. More babies were named Jane in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Meaning God is gracious (feminine of John) · Hebrew, French, English
Say it JAYN /dʒeɪn/
- Rank in 2025
- #221 girls, up 43 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 1,380girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19479,943 babies
- Total since 1880
- 381,009babies recorded
What does the name Jane mean?
Jane is an English feminine form of John. It came from Old French Jehanne, the medieval form of Latin Johanna, which goes back through Greek to Hebrew Yohanan, "God is gracious". In medieval England the usual form was Joan, which DMNES describes as hugely popular from the 13th century; it notes that French Jehanne encouraged spellings with -a- in England. Wiktionary calls Jane the standard feminine of John since the 1600s.
יוֹחָנָן (Biblical Hebrew, “God is gracious”)Johanna (Medieval Latin, “feminine of Johannes”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Joan, Jean, Janie, Jana, Johanna, Joanna.
See also: Hebrew names, names that mean God, names that mean grace.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Jane', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources (ed. S. L. Uckelman), Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Joan', DMNES, Durham University
Nicknames for Jane
The usual nicknames for Jane are Janie and Jenny. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Jane in the last five years, 13 were named Jenny, against 108 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Janie | Traditional | #1,329 | 725 |
| Jenny · Jenny was a medieval pet form of Jane and Jean · also for Jennifer | Traditional | #1,503 | 792 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Janes go by each one.
Jane popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 1,133 since 1907.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #221 | 1,380 |
| 2020 | #264 | 1,169 |
| 2010 | #385 | 833 |
| 2000 | #437 | 647 |
| 1990 | #346 | 773 |
| 1980 | #312 | 775 |
| 1970 | #202 | 1,601 |
| 1960 | #67 | 6,586 |
| 1950 | #39 | 8,964 |
| 1940 | #47 | 5,091 |
| 1930 | #55 | 4,575 |
| 1920 | #48 | 5,054 |
| 1910 | #116 | 709 |
| 1900 | #128 | 495 |
| 1890 | #108 | 372 |
| 1880 | #98 | 215 |
How popular is Jane, counting every spelling?
Jane is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #237 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #221 for Jane on its own. Together these spellings went to 1,440 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jane | 1,380 | #221 | 5,943 |
| Jayne | 60 | #2,837 | 312 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Jane?
1,380 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Jane (0.38 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Jane born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 6 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Jane.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Jane?
About 202,100 people born in the US named Jane are alive today, with a median age of 69; half are between 58 and 77. That makes Jane a name most people associate with older generations.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Jane by state
How common Jane was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Utah (5.8×), District of Columbia (4.2×), Idaho (4.1×), Montana (2.4×), Oregon (2.0×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in New Mexico, Nevada, Hawaii.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Jane: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Jane, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Jane · Sibling names for Jane
Questions about the name Jane
What does Jane mean?
Jane means “God is gracious (feminine of John)” (Hebrew, French, English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Jane?
Jane was the 221st most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 1,380 babies. Its best year was 1946, when it ranked 35th; the most babies were born in 1947 (9,943). Over the last ten years it has moved up 69 places. More babies were named Jane in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Is Jane a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Jane in the US.
Where is Jane most popular?
In 2021–2025, Jane was most common in Utah (4.25 per 1,000 girls), followed by District of Columbia and Idaho.