Janette
Janette was the 5150th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 25 babies. Its best year was 1953, when it ranked 310th with 699 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 1,995 places. More babies were named Janette in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Meaning (as Jeanette) little Jean (Jane) · French, Scottish, Hebrew
- Rank in 2025
- #5,150 girls, down 339 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 25girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 1953699 babies
- Total since 1880
- 32,214babies recorded
What does the name Janette mean?
Janette is a spelling of Jeanette, pronounced the same way, so it shares Jeanette's meaning and origin.
Jeanette is Jean with the diminutive -ette, or a spelling of French Jeannette (Jeanne + -ette), as Wiktionary notes; it was originally chiefly Scottish. Jeanne and Jean are feminine forms of John, from Hebrew Yoḥanan 'YHWH is gracious'. Singer and actress Jeanette MacDonald made it popular in the US in the 1930s.
יוֹחָנָן (Yoḥanan) (Biblical Hebrew, “YHWH is gracious”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Jeannette, Janet, Jean, Jeanne.
See also: Hebrew names, names that mean God, names that mean grace.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Jeanette', 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)
Janette popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 42 since 1971.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #5,150 | 25 |
| 2020 | #4,811 | 27 |
| 2010 | #1,967 | 102 |
| 2000 | #1,095 | 188 |
| 1990 | #633 | 355 |
| 1980 | #589 | 314 |
| 1970 | #471 | 436 |
| 1960 | #404 | 560 |
| 1950 | #326 | 551 |
| 1940 | #369 | 318 |
| 1930 | #480 | 195 |
| 1920 | #603 | 142 |
| 1910 | #850 | 26 |
| 1900 | #873 | 19 |
| 1890 | #852 | 11 |
| 1880 | #790 | 6 |
How popular is Janette, counting every spelling?
Janette is a spelling of Jeanette, a name family that ranked #1,505 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #5,150 for Janette on its own. Together these spellings went to 124 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jeanette | 75 | #2,391 | 336 |
| Janette | 25 | #5,150 | 166 |
| Jeannette | 24 | #5,309 | 101 |
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 Janette?
25 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Janette (0.01 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Janette 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 337 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Janette.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Janette?
About 23,400 people born in the US named Janette are alive today, with a median age of 57; half are between 39 and 70. That makes Janette 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.
Janette by state
How common Janette was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. In 49 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 Janette: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Janette, they share its era and feel.
Questions about the name Janette
What does Janette mean?
Janette is a spelling of Jeanette, which means “little Jean (Jane)” (French, Scottish, Hebrew origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Janette?
Janette was the 5150th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 25 babies. Its best year was 1953, when it ranked 310th with 699 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 1,995 places. More babies were named Janette in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Is Janette a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Janette in the US.
Where is Janette most popular?
In 2021–2025, Janette was most common in California (0.03 per 1,000 girls), followed by Texas and Texas.