Janet

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

Girl's name · #2791 in the US (2025) · Heirloom

Janet belongs to an older America first — it reached #16 back in 1938 — yet it still appears in today's records at #2791. About 557,000 girls have carried it since 1880. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records.

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).

Similar names: Carol · Janice · Joanne · Jeanette · Jackie · Judy

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

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