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.
- #540 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #800 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 56,881
- born since 1912
- 1980s
- peak decade
56,881 babies have been named Janelle since 1912, making it today's #800 girls' name.
Janelle has 56,881 recorded births among girls since 1912, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #800 as of the latest data, more common than 95% 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.
- #540 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #800 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 56,881 born since 1912
- 1980s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Janelle ranks #540 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #800 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 56,881 born since 1912, peaking in the 1980s.
- #540 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #800 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 56,881
- born since 1912
- 1980s
- peak decade
Janelle's 56,881 recorded births place it above 99.25% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Janelle compares
56,881 Top 4% higher than 96% 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
Janelle's all-time total is 151x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Janelle | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 56,881 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 1,416 | 21 | 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 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
1980s is the heaviest window (12,571 births, 22% of the file).
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 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% |
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? ▼
Where does Janelle sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Janelle most popular? ▼
Where is Janelle most popular? ▼
How long has the name Janelle been used? ▼
What names are similar to Janelle? ▼
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
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
Compare Janelle side by side: Janelle vs Janet Janelle vs Janice Janelle vs Jane
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Janelle
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Janelle: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1979)
Similar record span (~113 yrs)
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, 1912–2025 (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 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 August 2026.