Janelle
Janelle was given to 340 girls in 2025, #801 among girls’ names; 56,967 Americans have been recorded with it since 1912 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 52,800 Americans named Janelle and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (93% of everyone recorded); the median is 38 years old and half are between 22 and 49.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Janelle by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Janelle mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Janelle is “a female given name.”
From Jane + -elle, q.v. Doublet of Ivanka, Jan, Janet, Janey, Janine, Jeanette, Jeanie, Jeannette, Jeannine, Jen, Jenna, Jenny, Jessie, Jo, Jody, Juanita, Shanae, Sinead, and Vanna.
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Janelle?
#801 among girls’ names, 2025
Janelle fell from #474 in 2015 to #801 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 0.38 to 0.21 per 1,000.
1,421 babies in 1979, the peak
Janelle peaked in 1979, when 1,421 babies were given it (1,416 girls, #186 among girls’ names). The 340 births of 2025 are 24% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 340 | #801 | 0.21 |
| 2024 | 363 | #777 | 0.22 |
| 2023 | 418 | #693 | 0.26 |
| 2022 | 435 | #671 | 0.27 |
| 2021 | 448 | #663 | 0.27 |
| 2020 | 427 | #671 | 0.26 |
| 2019 | 549 | #553 | 0.33 |
| 2018 | 527 | #584 | 0.31 |
| 2017 | 628 | #499 | 0.36 |
| 2016 | 667 | #477 | 0.38 |
Every recorded year (114)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 680 | #474 | 0.38 |
| 2014 | 713 | #451 | 0.40 |
| 2013 | 777 | #397 | 0.44 |
| 2012 | 739 | #426 | 0.42 |
| 2011 | 813 | #391 | 0.46 |
| 2010 | 813 | #394 | 0.46 |
| 2009 | 781 | #405 | 0.43 |
| 2008 | 884 | #373 | 0.47 |
| 2007 | 817 | #399 | 0.42 |
| 2006 | 824 | #390 | 0.43 |
| 2005 | 571 | #517 | 0.31 |
| 2004 | 526 | #545 | 0.29 |
| 2003 | 606 | #484 | 0.33 |
| 2002 | 585 | #480 | 0.33 |
| 2001 | 588 | #473 | 0.33 |
| 2000 | 591 | #470 | 0.33 |
| 1999 | 609 | #442 | 0.34 |
| 1998 | 647 | #413 | 0.37 |
| 1997 | 654 | #400 | 0.38 |
| 1996 | 687 | #386 | 0.39 |
| 1995 | 779 | #339 | 0.44 |
| 1994 | 867 | #314 | 0.49 |
| 1993 | 980 | #282 | 0.54 |
| 1992 | 1,071 | #261 | 0.58 |
| 1991 | 1,088 | #257 | 0.58 |
| 1990 | 1,106 | #258 | 0.58 |
| 1989 | 1,184 | #232 | 0.64 |
| 1988 | 1,247 | #209 | 0.70 |
| 1987 | 1,218 | #216 | 0.70 |
| 1986 | 1,220 | #216 | 0.71 |
| 1985 | 1,360 | #198 | 0.79 |
| 1984 | 1,220 | #212 | 0.72 |
| 1983 | 1,165 | #218 | 0.70 |
| 1982 | 1,245 | #213 | 0.74 |
| 1981 | 1,317 | #203 | 0.79 |
| 1980 | 1,395 | #194 | 0.84 |
| 1979 | 1,416 | #186 | 0.88 |
| 1978 | 1,384 | #186 | 0.90 |
| 1977 | 1,069 | #232 | 0.70 |
| 1976 | 760 | #302 | 0.52 |
| 1975 | 733 | #311 | 0.50 |
| 1974 | 634 | #344 | 0.43 |
| 1973 | 609 | #349 | 0.42 |
| 1972 | 586 | #370 | 0.39 |
| 1971 | 642 | #368 | 0.39 |
| 1970 | 606 | #387 | 0.35 |
| 1969 | 665 | #351 | 0.39 |
| 1968 | 568 | #384 | 0.35 |
| 1967 | 522 | #398 | 0.32 |
| 1966 | 473 | #432 | 0.28 |
| 1965 | 472 | #435 | 0.27 |
| 1964 | 560 | #413 | 0.30 |
| 1963 | 441 | #463 | 0.23 |
| 1962 | 451 | #451 | 0.23 |
| 1961 | 431 | #469 | 0.21 |
| 1960 | 442 | #465 | 0.22 |
| 1959 | 393 | #490 | 0.19 |
| 1958 | 407 | #472 | 0.20 |
| 1957 | 409 | #468 | 0.20 |
| 1956 | 368 | #485 | 0.18 |
| 1955 | 419 | #434 | 0.21 |
| 1954 | 376 | #454 | 0.19 |
| 1953 | 331 | #468 | 0.18 |
| 1952 | 310 | #475 | 0.17 |
| 1951 | 240 | #542 | 0.13 |
| 1950 | 275 | #485 | 0.16 |
| 1949 | 262 | #501 | 0.15 |
| 1948 | 256 | #513 | 0.15 |
| 1947 | 189 | #611 | 0.11 |
| 1946 | 131 | #706 | 0.08 |
| 1945 | 138 | #618 | 0.11 |
| 1944 | 129 | #653 | 0.10 |
| 1943 | 98 | #786 | 0.07 |
| 1942 | 102 | #748 | 0.08 |
| 1941 | 92 | #742 | 0.08 |
| 1940 | 102 | #688 | 0.09 |
| 1939 | 116 | #630 | 0.11 |
| 1938 | 122 | #617 | 0.11 |
| 1937 | 110 | #649 | 0.10 |
| 1936 | 111 | #629 | 0.11 |
| 1935 | 91 | #707 | 0.09 |
| 1934 | 78 | #758 | 0.07 |
| 1933 | 69 | #802 | 0.07 |
| 1932 | 63 | #886 | 0.06 |
| 1931 | 52 | #963 | 0.05 |
| 1930 | 45 | #1,106 | 0.04 |
| 1929 | 41 | #1,166 | 0.04 |
| 1928 | 23 | #1,749 | 0.02 |
| 1927 | 39 | #1,267 | 0.03 |
| 1926 | 51 | #1,049 | 0.04 |
| 1925 | 20 | #1,969 | 0.02 |
| 1924 | 26 | #1,695 | 0.02 |
| 1923 | 25 | #1,701 | 0.02 |
| 1922 | 17 | #2,224 | 0.01 |
| 1921 | 16 | #2,331 | 0.01 |
| 1920 | 22 | #1,848 | 0.02 |
| 1919 | 16 | #2,192 | 0.01 |
| 1918 | 11 | #2,906 | 0.01 |
| 1917 | 10 | #2,970 | 0.01 |
| 1916 | 14 | #2,313 | 0.01 |
| 1915 | 14 | #2,184 | 0.01 |
| 1914 | 6 | #3,380 | 0.01 |
| 1913 | 8 | #2,434 | 0.01 |
| 1912 | 5 | #3,183 | 0.01 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Janelle a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Janelle has been given almost only to girls: 86 boys in 114 years of records.
Girls and boys named Janelle: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Janelle, and how old are they?
52,800 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 93% of the 56,967 Americans ever recorded as Janelle. The median Janelle alive today is 38 years old; half are between 22 and 49.
The 2020 Census counted 48,979 people named Janelle (48,883 women and girls, 96 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 51,580 born in the U.S. The Census count is 5% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 553 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 5,330 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 11,700 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 17,300 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 10,900 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 6,930 |
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 Janelle born?
The states with the most babies named Janelle are California, Texas and New York, with 32% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 9,603 | #499 | 1.4× |
| Texas | 3,837 | #636 | 0.8× |
| New York | 3,633 | #882 | 0.9× |
| Pennsylvania | 2,996 | #1,300 | 1.1× |
| Illinois | 2,326 | #1,174 | 0.8× |
| Florida | 2,288 | #699 | 1.0× |
| Ohio | 2,103 | #1,203 | 0.8× |
| Michigan | 2,061 | #1,302 | 0.9× |
| Minnesota | 1,942 | not ranked | 1.7× |
| Washington | 1,557 | #711 | 1.4× |
Where Janelle is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Janelle is most over-represented in Hawaii: since 1912 it was given 2.0 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 Janelle 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 85,014 babies since 1880, Janelle is the most given (67% of them). In 2025 it was given to 340 of their 498 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 Janelle
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 Janelle and names like it
- Compare Janelle and JanelBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1970sJanelle peaked in 1979.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Janelle since 1910.
- The top names of 1979The year the most babies were named Janelle.
- The names of the MillennialsMost people named Janelle alive today were born 1981-1996.
- Names starting with JMost given first.