Total births
56,881
Girls' name · since 1912
Janelle
Since 1912, U.S. Social Security records show 56,881 babies named Janelle, peaking in 1979. See the year-by-year trend, decade totals, and state rankings below, sourced from federal birth data.
- #776
- among girls today
- 56,881
- born since 1912
- 1980s
- peak decade
- 96%
- more common than other girls
56,881 babies have been named Janelle since 1912, making it today's #776 girls' name.
Janelle has 56,881 recorded births among girls since 1912, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #776 as of the latest data, more common than 96% of girls, busiest in the 1980s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1912 to 2025.
- #776 among girls today
- 56,881 born since 1912
- 1980s peak decade
- 96% more common than other girls
Data updated Jun 2026
The verdict
Janelle is currently the #776 girls' name in America, more common than 96% of girls - 56,881 born since 1912, peaking in the 1980s.
- #776
- among girls today
- 56,881
- born since 1912
- 1980s
- peak decade
- 96%
- more common than other girls
Janelle vs. every other girls name in current SSA rankings
#776
of 17,726 girls in use
More common than 96% of names given to girls today.
1980s
Peak decade
22% of everyone ever named Janelle was born in this single decade.
1979
Single peak year
1,416 babies were named Janelle in 1979 - its busiest year on record.
How Janelle compares
56,881 Top 3% higher than 97% of 17,726 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
Janelle's all-time total is 149x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Janelle | Median girls name (Emerly) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 56,881 | 382 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 1,416 | 48 | 19,840 |
Janelle's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Janelle splits its recorded history at 1969: 81% of all births land in the more recent half, 19% in the earlier half, a lean toward present-day use rather than a passing spike. The single quietest year was 1912 (5 births) -- compare that against the 1979 peak of 1,416 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Janelle at a glance
Top 1,000 girls' namePeak year
1979
Current rank
#776
Active since
1912
Janelle popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1912–2025
- Peak year (1979)
- 1,416
- Annual births at peak, across 114 years of records
Janelle popularity over time - boys
86 total births recorded since 1976 (Janelle as boys' name)
Janelle by decade
Total births in each ten-year window, peak vs trough at a glance
1980s was Janelle's strongest decade.
12,571 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 22% of all-time use.
Janelle births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1910s 84
1910s
84 births
- 1920s 280
1920s
280 births
- 1930s 857
1930s
857 births
- 1940s 1,499
1940s
1,499 births
- 1950s 3,528
1950s
3,528 births
- 1960s 5,025
1960s
5,025 births
- 1970s
1970s
8,439 births
- 1980s
1980s
12,571 births
- 1990s
1990s
8,488 births
- 2000s
2000s
6,773 births
- 2010s
2010s
6,906 births
- 2020s 2,431
2020s
2,431 births
What this shows Peak: 1980s at 12,571 births (22% of all-time use).
How Janelle 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 Janelle's total volume
Janelle vs 15 similarly-sized girls names
Janelle by state
Where Janelle concentrates geographically, total births since 1912
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 9,603 | 16.9% |
| #2 | Texas | | 3,837 | 6.7% |
| #3 | New York | | 3,633 | 6.4% |
| #4 | Pennsylvania | | 2,996 | 5.3% |
| #5 | Illinois | | 2,326 | 4.1% |
| #6 | Florida | | 2,288 | 4.0% |
| #7 | Ohio | | 2,103 | 3.7% |
| #8 | Michigan | | 2,061 | 3.6% |
California share of Janelle's total US births 16.9%
Even split
9,603 of 56,881 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Janelle appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Janelle? ▼
56,881 babies have been named Janelle since 1912. It currently ranks #776 among girls. The peak year was 1979 with 1,416 births.
When was Janelle most popular? ▼
Janelle was most popular in the 1980s decade with 12,571 total births. The single peak year was 1979.
Where is Janelle most popular? ▼
The top states for the name Janelle are California (9,603 births), Texas (3,837 births), New York (3,633 births).
How long has the name Janelle been used? ▼
The SSA has tracked Janelle since 1912 -- 114 years through the most recent 2025 data.
What names are similar to Janelle? ▼
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 Janelle's data
- Janelle's decade-level peak was the 1980s (12,571 total births); usage has since declined to 2,431 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Janelles (9,603 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
- Weighing it against an alternative? Put two names side by side. Compare names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Janelle
Nearby Names Like Janelle
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Janelle
Janet Girl
#2435 556,776 births
Janice Girl
#2250 406,448 births
Jane Girl
#269 379,876 births
Janie Girl
#1536 75,598 births
Jan Girl
54,531 births
Compare Janelle side by side: Janelle vs Janet Janelle vs Janice Janelle vs Jane
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Janelle
Haley #775
159,511 births · Peak 2000
Seraphina #777
4,093 births · Peak 2025
Samira #774
8,875 births · Peak 2025
Indy #778
2,329 births · Peak 2024
Addilyn #773
9,857 births · Peak 2016
Mikayla #779
56,713 births · Peak 1998
Karina #772
61,464 births · Peak 1995
Denver #780
4,235 births · Peak 2021
Data Sources
Data as of June 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, 1912–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Cite this page
NameAlmanac Editorial. "Janelle: #776 Girls' Name - 56,881 Births, Peak 1979." NameAlmanac. Accessed via https://namealmanac.com/name/janelle. Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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 Janelle 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 June 2026.