Janet
Janet was the 2791st most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 61 babies. Its best year was 1938, when it ranked 16th; the most babies were born in 1954 (18,477). Over the last ten years it has moved down 1,310 places. More babies were named Janet in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Meaning pet form of Jane · English, Scottish, Hebrew
Say it JAN-it /ˈdʒænɪt/
- Rank in 2025
- #2,791 girls, down 780 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 61girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 195418,477 babies
- Total since 1880
- 558,291babies recorded
What does the name Janet mean?
Janet is a pet form of Jane, made with the diminutive -et, as Wiktionary notes, and it was chiefly Scottish until the 19th century. Jane comes through Old French Jehanne from Latin Johanna, the feminine of Johannes (John), from Hebrew Yoḥanan 'YHWH is gracious'. Janet became a very common American girls' name in the mid-20th century.
Jane (English, “from Johanna”)יוֹחָנָן (Yoḥanan) (Biblical Hebrew, “YHWH is gracious”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Jane, Janette, Jeanette, Jan, Janie.
See also: Hebrew names, names that mean God, names that mean grace.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Janet', Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Joan', DMNES (Durham University)
Nicknames for Janet
The usual nicknames for Janet are Jan.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan · also for Janice | Traditional | #15,898 | 10 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Janets go by each one.
Janet popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 1,515 since 1917.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #2,791 | 61 |
| 2020 | #2,011 | 93 |
| 2010 | #890 | 298 |
| 2000 | #412 | 686 |
| 1990 | #223 | 1,285 |
| 1980 | #172 | 1,609 |
| 1970 | #96 | 4,158 |
| 1960 | #32 | 14,250 |
| 1950 | #18 | 16,193 |
| 1940 | #19 | 10,105 |
| 1930 | #53 | 4,602 |
| 1920 | #124 | 2,057 |
| 1910 | #217 | 296 |
| 1900 | #326 | 108 |
| 1890 | #287 | 76 |
| 1880 | #299 | 28 |
How popular is Janet, counting every spelling?
Janet is the most common spelling of a name family that had 68 girls in 2025 across its spellings. Together these spellings went to 68 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Janet | 61 | #2,791 | 428 |
| Janett | 7 | #12,452 | 27 |
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 Janet?
61 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Janet (0.02 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Janet 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 138 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Janet.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Janet?
About 354,800 people born in the US named Janet are alive today, with a median age of 70; half are between 63 and 77. That makes Janet 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.
Janet by state
How common Janet was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in California (1.8×), New York (1.6×). In 44 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Janet: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Janet, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Janet · Sibling names for Janet
Questions about the name Janet
What does Janet mean?
Janet means “pet form of Jane” (English, Scottish, Hebrew origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Janet?
Janet was the 2791st most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 61 babies. Its best year was 1938, when it ranked 16th; the most babies were born in 1954 (18,477). Over the last ten years it has moved down 1,310 places. More babies were named Janet in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Is Janet a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Janet in the US.
Where is Janet most popular?
In 2021–2025, Janet was most common in California (0.10 per 1,000 girls), followed by New York and Texas.