Jane
Girl nameJane has been given to 381,009 babies in the U.S. since 1880. It peaked in 1947 and currently ranks #221 for girls (2025).
Meaning & origin /d͡ʒeɪn/
Variant of Jeanne, from French Jeanne, from Middle French Jehanne, from Medieval Latin Johanna, variant of Latin Ioanna under influence from Latin Iōhannēs, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννα (Iōánna), from Hebrew יוֹחָנָה (Yôḥānāh, literally “God is gracious”), the feminized form of יְהוֹחָנָן (Yəhōḥānān) which produced John and its many doublets. As a placeholder name, cf. similar use of John and Jack and earlier use of Joan in the same role. Doublet of Gianna, Ivana, Jana, Janice, Janis, Jean, Jeanne, Jen, Joan, Joanna, Joanne, Johanna, Juana, Shavonne, Sian, Siobhan, Shane, Shaun
Origin: French
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Popularity over time births per year, 1880–2025
Total babies
381,009
Peak year
1947 (9,961 babies)
Rank in 2025
#221 for girls
First recorded
1880
10-year trend
▲ +24%
Gender split
100% girls / 0% boys
Famous people named Jane
Jane Austen
English novelist (1775–1817)
Jane Fonda
American actress and activist
Lady Jane Grey
Queen of England and Ireland in July 1553
Jane Birkin
British-French actress and singer (1946–2023)
Notability data from Wikidata (CC0).
Names with a similar vibe
Same primary gender, peaked around the same years, and roughly as common as Jane.
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