Girls' name · since 1914

Janell

15,733 babies named Janell in U.S. Social Security records since 1914, with the highest year being 1979. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

#1,245 of 72,339
all-time among girls
#6,346 of 17,297
2025 SSA year
15,733
born since 1914
1970s
peak decade

Yes -- Janell is the #6346 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 15,733 recorded since 1914.

Social Security Administration records show Janell recorded 15,733 times among girls since 1914, holding rank #6346 nationally today, ahead of 63% of girls, peaking in the 1970s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1914 to 2025.

  • #1,245 of 72,339 all-time among girls
  • #6,346 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
  • 15,733 born since 1914
  • 1970s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Janell ranks #1,245 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #6,346 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 15,733 born since 1914, peaking in the 1970s.

#1,245 of 72,339
all-time among girls
#6,346 of 17,297
2025 SSA year
15,733
born since 1914
1970s
peak decade
0%100%Median name50%63.3%
Janell vs. every other girls name in current SSA rankings
Upper archive tier
All-time archive position

Janell's 15,733 recorded births place it above 98.27% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.

45 jurisdictions
State-record footprint

45 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.

How Janell compares

15,733 Top 7% higher than 93% of 17,297 names currently given to girls

Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.

Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data

How the numbers stack up

Janell's all-time total is 42x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.

Metric Janell Median girls name (Kyann) #1 girls name (Olivia)
All-time total births 15,733 376 567,345
Peak-year births 416 21 19,840

Janell's usage pattern, beyond the headline number

Divide Janell's SSA record in two at 1970 and the more recent half accounts for 58% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 42%, a genuinely balanced usage pattern. Its calmest year was 1914, with only 5 births recorded -- set against the 1979 peak of 416, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.

Janell popularity over time - girls

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1914–2025

Outside the top 1,000
Peak year (1979)
416
Annual births at peak, across 112 years of records
0100200300400500 191419291943195719711985199920132025 18

Janell popularity over time - boys

23 total births recorded since 1979 (Janell as boys' name)

Unisex variant - 23 births
456789 1979198519872003 5

Janell by decade

1970s is the heaviest window (2,852 births, 18% of the file).

1970s was Janell's strongest decade.

2,852 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 18% of all-time use.

Janell births by decade

Total births in each ten-year window

births

What this shows Peak: 1970s at 2,852 births (18% of all-time use).

Source U.S. Social Security Administration · Baby Names As of August 2026

How Janell compares to similarly-sized names

Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Janell's total volume

Janell vs 15 similarly-sized girls names Scatter plot of 16 data points. 0%5%10%15%20% 050100150200 New & already peakedOld name, single-era peakNew & still diversifyingLong history, steady all along Years in SSA records % of total births in the single peak year -146, 3.2%-115, 3%-132, 5%-146, 2.4%-137, 16.9%-77, 6.5%-146, 1.7%-86, 4.1%-146, 3.6%-79, 3.2%-51, 5.6%-129, 5.2%-56, 11.6%-146, 2%-146, 1.4%Janell-112, 2.6%Janell
Janell vs 15 similarly-sized girls names

Janell by state

Where Janell concentrates geographically, total births since 1914

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Janell
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 California
1,942 12.3%
#2 Texas
1,250 7.9%
#3 New York
588 3.7%
#4 Louisiana
565 3.6%
#5 Illinois
541 3.4%
#6 Michigan
538 3.4%
#7 Pennsylvania
504 3.2%
#8 Ohio
487 3.1%
California share of Janell's total US births 12.3%
Even split

1,942 of 15,733 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 45 reporting states.

Janell appears in 45 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Janell?
Since 1914, Social Security records show 15,733 babies named Janell. Across the full SSA archive it ranks #1,245 of 72,339 girls' names by total births. In 2025, it holds #6,346 of 17,297 among girls. Its busiest year on record was 1979, with 416 births.
Where does Janell sit in the SSA name archive?
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Janell ranks #1,245 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #6,346 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. All-time ordinal matches browse popularity (total births DESC); the current ordinal uses the 2025 SSA file. See /methodology#corpus-placement.
When was Janell most popular?
Janell was most popular in the 1970s decade with 2,852 total births. The single peak year was 1979.
Where is Janell most popular?
The top states for the name Janell are California (1,942 births), Texas (1,250 births), New York (588 births).
How long has the name Janell been used?
Records for Janell go back to 1914, giving 112 years of history through 2025.
What names are similar to Janell?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Janet, Janice, Jane, Janie, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.

What to do with Janell's data

  • Janell's decade-level peak was the 1970s (2,852 total births); usage has since declined to 162 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
  • California records the most Janells (1,942 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names

Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.

Keep exploring Janell

Nearby Names Like Janell

Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Janell

Names with a similar popularity rank to Janell

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Janell: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.

Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.

Data Sources

Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1914–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).

Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Janell draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.