Janell
A feminine name of English origin, a combination of Jane and Nell.
Name Census estimates that about 12,797 living Americans carry the first name Janell. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Janell today is around 47 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Janell births was 1979 (421 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Janell. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Janell with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
13K
~ 1 in 26,784 Americans
Peak year
1979
421 babies that year
Average age
47
years old
2003 SSA rank
#4,137
Tracked since 1914
Census
Janell in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 12,759 people with the first name Janell, which placed it at #2,105 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#2,105
National first-name rank
People counted
13K
12,759 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
4.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
63.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Janell
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Janell is White at 63.6%. The next largest groups are Black (19.7%) and Hispanic (10.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Janell described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Janell at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White63.6% · 8,120
- Black or African American19.7% · 2,516
- Hispanic or Latino10.5% · 1,341
- Two or more races3.3% · 420
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 187
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 175
Gender
Gender distribution for Janell
Out of the 15,736 babies given the name Janell since 1880, 99.9% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Janell as a male name
- Ranked #11,653 in 2003
- 5 male births in 2003
- Peak: 1987 (8 births)
Janell as a female name
- Ranked #4,137 in 2024
- 35 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1979 (416 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Janell appears almost entirely female. Of the 12,755 people counted with this name, 99.5% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Janell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Janell from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 2,857 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Janell by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Janell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Janells live
The SSA's state-level files cover 45 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Janell, while Tennessee, South Carolina, Connecticut recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 255 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Janell
The name Janell is believed to have its origins in the French language, derived from the name Janelle, which itself is a feminine form of the name Jean. Jean is a French variant of the Hebrew name Yohanan, meaning "Graced by God" or "God is gracious."
The name Janell is thought to have gained popularity during the medieval period, particularly in France and other parts of Western Europe. It was often used as a diminutive or pet form of the name Janelle, serving as a more informal and affectionate version.
While there are no definitive historical references or appearances of the name Janell in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is likely that the name followed a similar trajectory to its parent name, Jean, which has a long and well-documented history dating back to biblical times.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Janell can be found in the 16th century, when it was used as a female given name in France. However, it remained relatively uncommon until the 20th century when it gained broader popularity, particularly in English-speaking countries.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Janell, including:
1. Janell Burse Comisionado (born 1961), an American businesswoman and entrepreneur, co-founder of the National Minority Supplier Development Council.
2. Janell Cannon (born 1957), an American author and illustrator of children's books, best known for her work "Stellaluna."
3. Janell Kempadoo (born 1980), a Guyanese-British actress known for her roles in TV series like "EastEnders" and "Doctors."
4. Janell Stephens (born 1956), an American R&B singer and songwriter, known for her work with the group Chanteuse.
5. Janell Mayo (born 1977), an American actress and model, best known for her role in the TV series "Family Time."
These individuals, spanning various fields and time periods, have helped to establish and perpetuate the name Janell, contributing to its continued use and recognition.
People
Janell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Janell as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Janell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Janell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 12,797 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Janell going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 26,784 US residents.
Is Janell a common name?
We classify Janell as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 15,736 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Janell most popular?
The single biggest year for Janell was 1979, when 421 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Janell is about 47 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Janell in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 12,759 people with the name Janell, or 4.22 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,105 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Janell in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Janell?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Janell appears almost entirely female. Of the 12,755 people counted with this name, 99.5% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Janell?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Janell is White at 63.6%. The next largest groups are Black (19.7%) and Hispanic (10.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Janell most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Janell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.6% (8,120 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Janell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Janell a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Janell in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Janell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Janell in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Janell can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Janell?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.