Jane
Jane was given to 1,380 girls in 2025, #221 among girls’ names; 381,009 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 203,000 Americans named Jane and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (53% of everyone recorded); the median is 69 years old and half are between 58 and 77.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Jane by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Jane mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Jane is “a female given name from French, the standard feminine form of John since the 17th century.” Its etymology gives the sense “God is gracious” (literally).
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, literally “God is gracious”), the feminized form of יְהוֹחָנָן (Yəhōḥānān) which produced John and its many doublets. As a placeholder name, cf. similar use of John and Jack and earlier use of Joan in the same role. Doublet of Gianna, Ivana, Jana, Janice, Janis, Jean, Jeanne, Jen, Joan, Joanna, Joanne, Johanna, Juana, Shavonne, Sian, Siobhan, Shane, Shaun, Shauna, and Sheena.
/d͡ʒeɪn/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Jane?
#221 among girls’ names, 2025
Jane rose from #290 in 2015 to #221 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 0.62 to 0.86 per 1,000.
9,961 babies in 1947, the peak
Jane peaked in 1947, when 9,961 babies were given it (9,943 girls, #36 among girls’ names). The 1,380 births of 2025 are 14% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,380 | #221 | 0.86 |
| 2024 | 1,186 | #269 | 0.73 |
| 2023 | 1,116 | #281 | 0.70 |
| 2022 | 1,089 | #290 | 0.66 |
| 2021 | 1,172 | #266 | 0.71 |
| 2020 | 1,169 | #264 | 0.72 |
| 2019 | 1,189 | #277 | 0.71 |
| 2018 | 1,133 | #290 | 0.67 |
| 2017 | 1,157 | #282 | 0.67 |
| 2016 | 1,135 | #279 | 0.64 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1,112 | #290 | 0.62 |
| 2014 | 1,026 | #322 | 0.57 |
| 2013 | 898 | #357 | 0.51 |
| 2012 | 927 | #343 | 0.53 |
| 2011 | 868 | #368 | 0.49 |
| 2010 | 833 | #385 | 0.47 |
| 2009 | 831 | #386 | 0.45 |
| 2008 | 826 | #389 | 0.44 |
| 2007 | 775 | #424 | 0.40 |
| 2006 | 665 | #477 | 0.35 |
| 2005 | 651 | #472 | 0.35 |
| 2004 | 657 | #459 | 0.36 |
| 2003 | 704 | #427 | 0.39 |
| 2002 | 696 | #417 | 0.39 |
| 2001 | 671 | #423 | 0.37 |
| 2000 | 647 | #437 | 0.36 |
| 1999 | 618 | #438 | 0.35 |
| 1998 | 638 | #415 | 0.36 |
| 1997 | 648 | #404 | 0.37 |
| 1996 | 639 | #407 | 0.36 |
| 1995 | 618 | #419 | 0.35 |
| 1994 | 706 | #369 | 0.40 |
| 1993 | 691 | #368 | 0.38 |
| 1992 | 652 | #395 | 0.35 |
| 1991 | 708 | #363 | 0.38 |
| 1990 | 773 | #346 | 0.41 |
| 1989 | 779 | #325 | 0.42 |
| 1988 | 723 | #340 | 0.41 |
| 1987 | 668 | #357 | 0.38 |
| 1986 | 669 | #356 | 0.39 |
| 1985 | 709 | #335 | 0.41 |
| 1984 | 725 | #323 | 0.43 |
| 1983 | 784 | #298 | 0.47 |
| 1982 | 845 | #290 | 0.50 |
| 1981 | 762 | #314 | 0.46 |
| 1980 | 775 | #312 | 0.47 |
| 1979 | 720 | #325 | 0.45 |
| 1978 | 699 | #328 | 0.46 |
| 1977 | 744 | #318 | 0.49 |
| 1976 | 697 | #320 | 0.48 |
| 1975 | 782 | #300 | 0.54 |
| 1974 | 827 | #288 | 0.56 |
| 1973 | 957 | #261 | 0.66 |
| 1972 | 1,160 | #238 | 0.76 |
| 1971 | 1,296 | #232 | 0.78 |
| 1970 | 1,601 | #202 | 0.92 |
| 1969 | 1,880 | #170 | 1.1 |
| 1968 | 2,192 | #146 | 1.3 |
| 1967 | 2,729 | #127 | 1.7 |
| 1966 | 3,213 | #111 | 1.9 |
| 1965 | 3,927 | #95 | 2.2 |
| 1964 | 4,567 | #93 | 2.4 |
| 1963 | 5,767 | #75 | 3.0 |
| 1962 | 6,114 | #73 | 3.1 |
| 1961 | 6,365 | #72 | 3.2 |
| 1960 | 6,586 | #67 | 3.3 |
| 1959 | 6,864 | #67 | 3.4 |
| 1958 | 7,199 | #61 | 3.6 |
| 1957 | 7,788 | #56 | 3.8 |
| 1956 | 8,241 | #50 | 4.1 |
| 1955 | 8,343 | #50 | 4.3 |
| 1954 | 8,343 | #49 | 4.3 |
| 1953 | 8,913 | #43 | 4.7 |
| 1952 | 9,322 | #42 | 5.0 |
| 1951 | 8,942 | #43 | 5.0 |
| 1950 | 8,964 | #39 | 5.2 |
| 1949 | 8,719 | #41 | 5.1 |
| 1948 | 8,781 | #39 | 5.2 |
| 1947 | 9,943 | #36 | 5.6 |
| 1946 | 8,971 | #35 | 5.7 |
| 1945 | 7,639 | #36 | 5.8 |
| 1944 | 6,564 | #41 | 4.9 |
| 1943 | 6,032 | #44 | 4.3 |
| 1942 | 5,707 | #46 | 4.2 |
| 1941 | 5,090 | #46 | 4.2 |
| 1940 | 5,091 | #47 | 4.5 |
| 1939 | 4,771 | #46 | 4.4 |
| 1938 | 4,786 | #44 | 4.3 |
| 1937 | 4,702 | #42 | 4.4 |
| 1936 | 4,719 | #42 | 4.5 |
| 1935 | 4,646 | #43 | 4.4 |
| 1934 | 4,358 | #48 | 4.2 |
| 1933 | 4,377 | #47 | 4.3 |
| 1932 | 4,348 | #49 | 4.1 |
| 1931 | 4,532 | #50 | 4.3 |
| 1930 | 4,575 | #55 | 4.1 |
| 1929 | 4,353 | #62 | 3.9 |
| 1928 | 4,411 | #62 | 3.8 |
| 1927 | 4,695 | #60 | 3.9 |
| 1926 | 4,641 | #56 | 3.9 |
| 1925 | 4,881 | #53 | 4.0 |
| 1924 | 5,104 | #53 | 4.1 |
| 1923 | 4,917 | #55 | 4.1 |
| 1922 | 4,805 | #55 | 4.0 |
| 1921 | 5,188 | #47 | 4.2 |
| 1920 | 5,054 | #48 | 4.2 |
| 1919 | 4,527 | #53 | 4.0 |
| 1918 | 4,730 | #53 | 4.1 |
| 1917 | 4,258 | #55 | 3.9 |
| 1916 | 3,826 | #62 | 3.7 |
| 1915 | 3,264 | #69 | 3.3 |
| 1914 | 2,340 | #71 | 3.1 |
| 1913 | 1,759 | #81 | 2.8 |
| 1912 | 1,390 | #89 | 2.5 |
| 1911 | 937 | #98 | 2.2 |
| 1910 | 709 | #116 | 1.8 |
| 1909 | 626 | #116 | 1.8 |
| 1908 | 531 | #130 | 1.6 |
| 1907 | 526 | #124 | 1.7 |
| 1906 | 438 | #140 | 1.5 |
| 1905 | 393 | #151 | 1.3 |
| 1904 | 395 | #142 | 1.4 |
| 1903 | 381 | #143 | 1.5 |
| 1902 | 388 | #142 | 1.5 |
| 1901 | 325 | #150 | 1.4 |
| 1900 | 495 | #128 | 1.7 |
| 1899 | 382 | #128 | 1.6 |
| 1898 | 406 | #130 | 1.6 |
| 1897 | 396 | #125 | 1.7 |
| 1896 | 413 | #115 | 1.7 |
| 1895 | 394 | #119 | 1.7 |
| 1894 | 390 | #120 | 1.7 |
| 1893 | 354 | #123 | 1.7 |
| 1892 | 396 | #113 | 1.9 |
| 1891 | 379 | #102 | 2.0 |
| 1890 | 372 | #108 | 2.0 |
| 1889 | 374 | #103 | 2.1 |
| 1888 | 446 | #92 | 2.5 |
| 1887 | 288 | #107 | 2.0 |
| 1886 | 306 | #105 | 2.1 |
| 1885 | 330 | #91 | 2.5 |
| 1884 | 295 | #98 | 2.3 |
| 1883 | 247 | #102 | 2.2 |
| 1882 | 254 | #101 | 2.4 |
| 1881 | 216 | #99 | 2.3 |
| 1880 | 215 | #98 | 2.4 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Jane a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Jane has been given almost only to girls: 1,133 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Jane: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Jane, and how old are they?
203,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 53% of the 381,009 Americans ever recorded as Jane. The median Jane alive today is 69 years old; half are between 58 and 77.
The 2020 Census counted 356,607 people named Jane (354,381 women and girls, 2,226 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 226,796 born in the U.S. The Census count is 1.6 times that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 29,200 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 114,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 22,200 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 11,200 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 11,500 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 14,700 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Jane born?
The states with the most babies named Jane are New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio, with 26% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 39,920 | #237 | 1.2× |
| Pennsylvania | 33,104 | #209 | 1.3× |
| Ohio | 22,690 | #202 | 1.2× |
| Illinois | 20,341 | #226 | 1.0× |
| California | 19,019 | #265 | 0.8× |
| Massachusetts | 17,156 | #201 | 1.5× |
| Michigan | 15,921 | #230 | 1.0× |
| Wisconsin | 14,333 | #226 | 1.6× |
| New Jersey | 13,450 | #356 | 1.2× |
| Texas | 11,977 | #341 | 0.5× |
Where Jane is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Jane is most over-represented in Wisconsin: since 1910 it was given 1.6 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Jane with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 614,777 babies since 1880, Jane is the most given (62% of them). In 2025 it was given to 1,380 of their 2,026 babies (68%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Jane
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Jane and names like it
- Compare Jane and JanieBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1940sJane peaked in 1947.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Jane since 1910.
- The top names of 1947The year the most babies were named Jane.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Jane alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with JMost given first.