Journei
A feminine name meaning "journey, path, or excursion".
Name Census estimates that about 2,137 living Americans carry the first name Journei. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Journei today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Journei births was 2021 (194 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Journei. 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.
Key insights
- • Journei is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 9 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
2.1K
~ 1 in 160,390 Americans
Peak year
2021
194 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,483
Tracked since 1999
Census
Journei in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 926 people with the first name Journei, which placed it at #13,143 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
#13,143
National first-name rank
People counted
926
926 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
89.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Journei
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Journei is Black at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%) and Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Journei 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 Journei at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American89.1% · 825
- Two or more races4.4% · 41
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 30
- White2.5% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 2
Popularity
Journei: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Journei from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 1,111 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Journei remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Journei 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 Journei during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Journeis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 20 states and territories. Texas, Florida, Georgia recorded the most babies named Journei, while Indiana, Arkansas, Maryland recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 72 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Journei
The name Journei is believed to have its origins in the ancient Etruscan civilization, which flourished in what is now modern-day Italy. The Etruscans were a highly advanced society known for their art, architecture, and language, which influenced the development of the Latin language.
One theory suggests that the name Journei is derived from the Etruscan word "jurnei," which means "to journey" or "to embark on a voyage." This connection could be attributed to the Etruscans' prowess as sailors and traders, who frequently traveled the Mediterranean Sea, establishing trade routes and colonies.
Another possible source of the name Journei is the Etruscan deity Juno, the goddess of childbirth and fertility. Some scholars believe that the name might have been used as a tribute to this revered deity, with parents bestowing it upon their children in hopes of ensuring a safe and successful journey through life.
In ancient Etruscan texts, there are a few references to individuals bearing names similar to Journei, such as "Jurneia" and "Jurneis." However, the earliest recorded example of the exact spelling "Journei" dates back to the 5th century BCE, when it was found inscribed on a funerary stele discovered in the Etruscan city of Tarquinia.
Throughout history, there have been several notable figures who bore the name Journei. One of the earliest was Journei of Ephesus, a prominent Greek philosopher who lived in the 3rd century BCE. His teachings on the concept of "the journey of life" are believed to have influenced the development of Stoic philosophy.
In the 2nd century CE, there was a Roman senator named Journei Maximus, who played a crucial role in the political affairs of the Roman Empire during the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius.
During the Renaissance period, a renowned Italian artist named Journei Michelangelo da Caravaggio (1571-1610) gained fame for his revolutionary chiaroscuro painting style, which dramatically contrasted light and dark tones.
In the 18th century, Journei Garibaldi (1807-1882) was an Italian patriot and military leader who played a pivotal role in the unification of Italy, earning him the title "Hero of Two Worlds."
More recently, Journei Verne (1828-1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright, best known for his pioneering works of science fiction and adventure novels, including "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" and "Journey to the Center of the Earth."
People
Journei + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Journei 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
Journei: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Journei?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,137 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Journei 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 160,390 US residents.
Is Journei a common name?
We classify Journei as "Rare". It ranks above 94% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,152 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Journei most popular?
The single biggest year for Journei was 2021, when 194 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Journei is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Journei in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 926 people with the name Journei, or 0.31 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,143 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 Journei 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 Journei?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Journei appears almost entirely female. Of the 922 people counted with this name, 99.2% 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 Journei?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Journei is Black at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%) and Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Journei most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Journei in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.1% (825 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 Journei in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Journei a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Journei 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 Journei still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Journei 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 Journei 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 called Journei?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.