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Girl · Hebrew, through French
Janet
Say it: JAN-it
Meaning
A pet form of Jane, from the French diminutive Jeannette.
Certainscholars agree on this meaning.
Long a favourite in Scotland, where Jonet and Janet appear constantly in early registers.
Its wave through time
Fading since the 1940s
In the United States
- 557,835 babies given this name since 1880
- At its height in 1942, about 1 in 103 girls
- 90 babies in 2020
Through the ages
- The High and Late Middle Ages1100 to 1450
- The Renaissance1400 to 1600
- Victorian and Belle Époque1837 to 1914
- The Modern Age1880 to today
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Jennet, Janette, Jonet
| French | Jeannette |
|---|---|
| Scottish Gaelic | Seonaid |
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- English poll taxes and lay subsidy rolls (13th and 14th centuries)
- Parish baptism registers
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.