Janelle
Girl name · #800 in 2025 · Rare
Janelle is currently the #800 girl name in the United States — 340 babies received it in 2025. A decade ago it stood at #470, so the name has been falling over the past ten years. Roughly one in every 5,294 girls born in 2025 was named Janelle.
Babies named Janelle per year. Source: SSA.
The 113-year story
Janelle first appears in the Social Security records in 1912, when 5 girls received the name. Its peak came in 1979, when 1,416 girls were named Janelle — good for #186 that year. Today's parents encounter it as a name from their grandparents’ generation, which is precisely the vintage window from which names get revived. Following the curve matters more than today's snapshot: a name's position on its rise-peak-decline arc is the best predictor of how common it will feel in a kindergarten class five years from now.
Unlock the 5-year forecast and compare Janelle against up to 5 other names.
Uniqueness: will there be another Janelle in class?
On our rarity read — which blends how common Janelle is today with its five-year momentum — the name reads as "rare". A high score means genuine rarity — your Janelle will likely be the only one in the room, with the occasional spelling-out as the price.
Where Janelle is most common
Geography matters for names, and Janelle is no exception. Adjusted for how many girls are born in each state, Janelle is most common in MA (0.5 per 1,000), NJ (0.5 per 1,000), NC (0.4 per 1,000), CA (0.4 per 1,000), VA (0.3 per 1,000) — against a national average of about 0.3 per 1,000 girls. These are per-capita rates, so they show where Janelle is a genuine regional favorite rather than just where the most babies are born.
Names like Janelle
Statistically, parents drawn to Janelle tend to be choosing among names with similar popularity arcs, era profiles, and sounds — the closest matches in our model are Danielle, Corinne, Nicolle, Johanna, and Jamie.
DanielleCorinneNicolleJohannaJamieJoleneMichelleArielle
Rank history (last 25 years)
| Year | Babies named Janelle | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 340 | #799 |
| 2024 | 363 | #775 |
| 2023 | 418 | #692 |
| 2022 | 435 | #670 |
| 2021 | 448 | #663 |
| 2020 | 427 | #669 |
| 2019 | 549 | #553 |
| 2018 | 527 | #583 |
| 2017 | 628 | #499 |
| 2016 | 667 | #477 |
| 2015 | 680 | #470 |
| 2014 | 713 | #450 |
| 2013 | 777 | #396 |
| 2012 | 739 | #426 |
| 2011 | 813 | #391 |
| 2010 | 813 | #392 |
| 2009 | 781 | #405 |
| 2008 | 884 | #372 |
| 2007 | 817 | #399 |
| 2006 | 824 | #390 |
| 2005 | 571 | #517 |
| 2004 | 526 | #545 |
| 2003 | 606 | #484 |
| 2002 | 585 | #480 |
| 2001 | 588 | #472 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Janelle a popular girl name?
Janelle ranked #800 among girls in 2025 with 340 babies given the name — outside the top 500, making it an uncommon pick. Ten years earlier it ranked #470.
When was the name Janelle most popular?
Janelle peaked in 1979, when 1,416 American girls received the name (ranked #186 that year). Since 1979 the name has declined from that high.
How rare is the name Janelle?
In 2025, roughly 1 in 5,294 newborn American girls was named Janelle. On our rarity scale (rarity blended with momentum) we classify it as "rare".
Data source: U.S. Social Security Administration name statistics, 1880–2025, national and state files. Counts reflect Social Security card applications; names with fewer than 5 occurrences in a state-year are suppressed by the SSA.