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Janet

“Variant of John — God is gracious” — Hebrew via Greek, Latin, and Old French origin

Girl's name · #2778 in the US (2025) · Vintage

Janet has appeared in US records since 1880 — best rank #16 (1938) · 556,776 babies named Janet all-time · 1 in 25,000 girls born in 2025.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 3 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Janets

• Janet Jackson — American singer, songwriter, dancer and actress (born 1966)
• Janet Yellen — 78th United States Secretary of the Treasury
• Janet Gaynor — American actress (1906–1984)
• Janet Leigh — American actress (1927–2004)
• Janet McTeer — British actress

In stories & tradition

• Janet (Wasp) — Tales to Astonish · Avengers
• Janet Fraiser — Stargate SG-1
• Janet Mitchell — EastEnders

What Janets become

Among 1,488 notable people named Janet:

Scientists & scholars appear 1.36× more often than among typical names — e.g. Janet Akyüz Mattei, Turkish astronomer (1943–2004).

Browse more girl names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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