Janis
Janis was given to 10 girls in 2025, #9,733 among girls’ names; 49,015 Americans have been recorded with it since 1909 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 32,800 Americans named Janis and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (67% of everyone recorded); the median is 73 years old and half are between 67 and 78.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Janis by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Janis mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Janis is “a female given name.”
A variant of Janice. Doublet of Ivana, Jana, Janice, Jean, Jeanne, Jen, Joan, Joanna, Joanne, Johanna, Juana, Shavonne, Sian, Siobhan, Shane, Shaun, Shauna, and Sheena.
/ˈd͡ʒænɪs/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Janis?
#9,733 among girls’ names, 2025
Janis fell from #4,642 in 2015 to #9,733 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 16.8 to 6.2 per million.
3,217 babies in 1947, the peak
Janis peaked in 1947, when 3,217 babies were given it (3,205 girls, #108 among girls’ names). The 10 births of 2025 are under 1% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 10 | #9,733 | 0.01 |
| 2024 | 11 | #9,193 | 0.01 |
| 2023 | 11 | #9,258 | 0.01 |
| 2022 | 10 | #9,999 | 0.01 |
| 2021 | 10 | #9,861 | 0.01 |
| 2020 | 9 | #10,618 | 0.01 |
| 2019 | 21 | #5,865 | 0.01 |
| 2018 | 20 | #6,118 | 0.01 |
| 2017 | 20 | #6,144 | 0.01 |
| 2016 | 23 | #5,700 | 0.01 |
Every recorded year (117)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 30 | #4,642 | 0.02 |
| 2014 | 33 | #4,391 | 0.02 |
| 2013 | 28 | #4,944 | 0.02 |
| 2012 | 18 | #6,972 | 0.01 |
| 2011 | 23 | #5,817 | 0.01 |
| 2010 | 37 | #4,062 | 0.02 |
| 2009 | 35 | #4,307 | 0.02 |
| 2008 | 27 | #5,351 | 0.01 |
| 2007 | 30 | #4,862 | 0.02 |
| 2006 | 31 | #4,620 | 0.02 |
| 2005 | 36 | #3,981 | 0.02 |
| 2004 | 40 | #3,656 | 0.02 |
| 2003 | 26 | #4,857 | 0.01 |
| 2002 | 44 | #3,211 | 0.02 |
| 2001 | 38 | #3,510 | 0.02 |
| 2000 | 36 | #3,611 | 0.02 |
| 1999 | 52 | #2,683 | 0.03 |
| 1998 | 53 | #2,583 | 0.03 |
| 1997 | 40 | #2,999 | 0.02 |
| 1996 | 32 | #3,522 | 0.02 |
| 1995 | 46 | #2,658 | 0.03 |
| 1994 | 54 | #2,382 | 0.03 |
| 1993 | 45 | #2,684 | 0.02 |
| 1992 | 53 | #2,436 | 0.03 |
| 1991 | 40 | #2,900 | 0.02 |
| 1990 | 46 | #2,576 | 0.02 |
| 1989 | 75 | #1,790 | 0.04 |
| 1988 | 55 | #2,102 | 0.03 |
| 1987 | 47 | #2,285 | 0.03 |
| 1986 | 63 | #1,804 | 0.04 |
| 1985 | 80 | #1,528 | 0.05 |
| 1984 | 75 | #1,520 | 0.04 |
| 1983 | 102 | #1,240 | 0.06 |
| 1982 | 106 | #1,239 | 0.06 |
| 1981 | 124 | #1,119 | 0.07 |
| 1980 | 138 | #1,036 | 0.08 |
| 1979 | 161 | #920 | 0.10 |
| 1978 | 154 | #921 | 0.10 |
| 1977 | 161 | #888 | 0.11 |
| 1976 | 171 | #813 | 0.12 |
| 1975 | 155 | #864 | 0.11 |
| 1974 | 161 | #828 | 0.11 |
| 1973 | 163 | #804 | 0.11 |
| 1972 | 203 | #710 | 0.13 |
| 1971 | 280 | #609 | 0.17 |
| 1970 | 244 | #660 | 0.14 |
| 1969 | 270 | #608 | 0.16 |
| 1968 | 284 | #567 | 0.17 |
| 1967 | 306 | #536 | 0.19 |
| 1966 | 345 | #510 | 0.20 |
| 1965 | 427 | #461 | 0.24 |
| 1964 | 516 | #432 | 0.27 |
| 1963 | 664 | #377 | 0.34 |
| 1962 | 591 | #388 | 0.30 |
| 1961 | 708 | #360 | 0.35 |
| 1960 | 857 | #321 | 0.42 |
| 1959 | 1,011 | #281 | 0.50 |
| 1958 | 1,224 | #245 | 0.61 |
| 1957 | 1,553 | #213 | 0.76 |
| 1956 | 2,364 | #157 | 1.2 |
| 1955 | 1,840 | #180 | 0.94 |
| 1954 | 1,791 | #183 | 0.92 |
| 1953 | 1,864 | #169 | 1.0 |
| 1952 | 2,181 | #153 | 1.2 |
| 1951 | 2,550 | #131 | 1.4 |
| 1950 | 2,295 | #136 | 1.3 |
| 1949 | 2,458 | #131 | 1.4 |
| 1948 | 2,745 | #121 | 1.6 |
| 1947 | 3,205 | #108 | 1.8 |
| 1946 | 2,053 | #134 | 1.3 |
| 1945 | 1,128 | #184 | 0.86 |
| 1944 | 729 | #246 | 0.55 |
| 1943 | 651 | #274 | 0.47 |
| 1942 | 719 | #257 | 0.53 |
| 1941 | 596 | #262 | 0.49 |
| 1940 | 578 | #260 | 0.51 |
| 1939 | 620 | #252 | 0.57 |
| 1938 | 640 | #251 | 0.58 |
| 1937 | 716 | #226 | 0.67 |
| 1936 | 599 | #252 | 0.58 |
| 1935 | 448 | #287 | 0.43 |
| 1934 | 412 | #309 | 0.39 |
| 1933 | 361 | #331 | 0.36 |
| 1932 | 306 | #365 | 0.29 |
| 1931 | 261 | #402 | 0.25 |
| 1930 | 270 | #403 | 0.24 |
| 1929 | 226 | #438 | 0.20 |
| 1928 | 194 | #497 | 0.17 |
| 1927 | 197 | #498 | 0.17 |
| 1926 | 145 | #589 | 0.12 |
| 1925 | 140 | #620 | 0.12 |
| 1924 | 133 | #650 | 0.11 |
| 1923 | 107 | #706 | 0.09 |
| 1922 | 106 | #707 | 0.09 |
| 1921 | 105 | #715 | 0.09 |
| 1920 | 121 | #660 | 0.10 |
| 1919 | 79 | #794 | 0.07 |
| 1918 | 74 | #832 | 0.06 |
| 1917 | 55 | #937 | 0.05 |
| 1916 | 54 | #932 | 0.05 |
| 1915 | 39 | #1,085 | 0.04 |
| 1914 | 34 | #1,027 | 0.04 |
| 1913 | 20 | #1,291 | 0.03 |
| 1912 | 15 | #1,452 | 0.03 |
| 1911 | 11 | #1,497 | 0.03 |
| 1910 | 8 | #1,844 | 0.02 |
| 1909 | 6 | #2,078 | 0.02 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Janis a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Janis has been given almost only to girls: 174 boys in 117 years of records.
Girls and boys named Janis: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Janis, and how old are they?
32,800 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 67% of the 49,015 Americans ever recorded as Janis. The median Janis alive today is 73 years old; half are between 67 and 78.
The 2020 Census counted 38,436 people named Janis (37,987 women and girls, 449 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 37,236 born in the U.S. The Census count is 3% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 3,450 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 24,200 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 3,350 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 1,010 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 564 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 245 |
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 Janis born?
The states with the most babies named Janis are California, Texas and Illinois, with 26% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 4,706 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Texas | 3,928 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Illinois | 2,965 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Ohio | 2,711 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| New York | 2,704 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Michigan | 2,506 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Pennsylvania | 2,123 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Missouri | 1,424 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Indiana | 1,384 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Wisconsin | 1,214 | not ranked | 1.0× |
Where Janis is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Janis is most over-represented in Washington: 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 Janis 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 3 names spelled alike, given to 49,593 babies since 1880, Janis is the most given (99% of them).
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 Janis
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 Janis and names like it
- Compare Janis and JannisBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1940sJanis peaked in 1947.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Janis since 1910.
- The top names of 1947The year the most babies were named Janis.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Janis alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with JMost given first.