How common is the name Jane?

356,607 people in the United States have the first name Jane, about 1 in 847. It ranks #140 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

JANE

#140

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
356,607
About
1 in 847
This common or more
35.5%
Who bears it

Of the 356,607 people named Jane, 77.9% reported their origin as White, 8.4% as Black and 6.4% as Hispanic or Latino. 99.4% are female. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Jane peaked in 1947, when 9,961 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18802025
Peak year
1947
Births that year
9,961
In 2025*
1,380 ▼86%
Recorded as
almost entirely female

At least 381,009 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Jane by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1940s, when it ranked #79. The largest share of babies named Jane, 39.1%, were born during the baby boom (1946–1964).

1880s#1622,971
1890s#1733,882
1900s#1984,508
1910s#11427,814
1920s#9948,230
1930s#9046,025
1940s#7972,764
1950s#9883,095
1960s#18143,455
1970s#5059,531
1980s#6237,503
1990s#7646,713
2000s#8257,128
2010s#64310,278
2020s#5597,112
Before 19011.9%
Greatest Generation 1901–2718.7%
Silent Generation 1928–4523.9%
Baby boom 1946–6439.1%
Generation X 1965–806.4%
Millennials 1981–963%
Generation Z 1997–123.1%
2013 and later3.9%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Jane is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Jane has been most common in Vermont (1.9×), Wisconsin (1.9×), and Massachusetts (1.9×), and least common in Nevada (0.22×).

366,398 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Either side of Jane

#138 Shirley · 360,153#139 Alexis · 358,350#141 Henry · 354,666#142 Julia · 349,781

Spelled almost the same

8 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Jane, most common first.

#645 Jan · 81,839#999 Jana · 43,056#1,051 Janie · 39,941#1,435 Jayne · 23,569#1,906 Janae · 14,882#4,068 Jame · 4,759#4,313 Janey · 4,394#5,754 Janee · 2,900

Also a last name

As a last name, Jane ranks #16,926 of 156,621, with 1,643 people. See Jane as a last name

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