Jane Name Meaning, Origin, Popularity, Girl Names Like Jane

Jane Name Origin: Hebrew
Pronunciation: jay(n)
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Jane Name Meaning

The meaning of the name Jane is simple and elegant, representing grace and kindness. A person named Jane is often seen as a nurturer and a mediator, someone who brings peace and understanding to those around them.

History of the Name Jane

The name Jane is derived from the Hebrew name Johannah, which means “God is gracious.” In the Middle Ages, the name became popular in England and eventually evolved into the modern version we know today.

One of the most famous Janes in history is Jane Austen, the beloved author of classics such as “Pride and Prejudice” and “Sense and Sensibility.” Despite living in the late 1700s and early 1800s, her witty and relatable stories continue to resonate with readers today.

Another notable Jane is Jane Goodall, the famed primatologist and conservationist. Her groundbreaking research on chimpanzees and commitment to animal rights has made her a household name and an inspiration to many.

Popularity of the Name Jane

While the name Jane may not be as trendy as some of the more modern names out there, it has remained consistently popular throughout the years. In the 1940s and 1950s, it was one of the top 10 most popular names for girls in the United States. And while it has fallen in popularity since then, it still remains a popular choice among parents today.

Final Thoughts on the Name Jane

Overall, the name Jane is a classic and timeless choice for a baby girl. With its rich history, elegant meaning, and enduring popularity, it’s no wonder that so many parents continue to choose this name for their daughters. And with the likes of Jane Austen and Jane Goodall as inspiration, any girl named Jane is sure to grow up to be accomplished and admirable.

Jane Name Popularity

How popular is the name Jane? Here’s everything we know.

Year	Rank	# Births	% Births
1910	116	681	0.1934%
1911	99	899	0.2414%
1912	89	1,372	0.2721%
1913	81	1,738	0.3065%
1914	71	2,330	0.3343%
1915	69	3,255	0.3583%
1916	62	3,815	0.3949%
1917	55	4,248	0.4246%
1918	53	4,731	0.4408%
1919	53	4,520	0.4317%
1920	48	5,043	0.4536%
1921	47	5,179	0.4523%
1922	55	4,800	0.4308%
1923	55	4,918	0.4391%
1924	53	5,101	0.4393%
1925	53	4,876	0.4314%
1926	56	4,635	0.4214%
1927	60	4,689	0.4236%
1928	62	4,405	0.4117%
1929	62	4,348	0.4198%
1930	55	4,573	0.4378%
1931	50	4,523	0.4583%
1932	49	4,342	0.4395%
1933	47	4,371	0.4692%
1934	48	4,346	0.4496%
1935	43	4,642	0.4777%
1936	42	4,716	0.4896%
1937	41	4,698	0.4768%
1938	44	4,786	0.4675%
1939	46	4,765	0.4684%
1940	47	5,077	0.4777%
1941	46	5,080	0.4514%
1942	46	5,705	0.4518%
1943	44	6,029	0.4618%
1944	41	6,558	0.5291%
1945	36	7,636	0.6261%
1946	35	8,964	0.6075%
1947	36	9,935	0.5952%
1948	39	8,778	0.5499%
1949	41	8,715	0.5418%
1950	39	8,963	0.5567%
1951	43	8,941	0.5273%
1952	42	9,323	0.5341%
1953	43	8,904	0.5031%
1954	49	8,349	0.4567%
1955	50	8,333	0.453%
1956	50	8,241	0.4363%
1957	57	7,779	0.4043%
1958	61	7,195	0.3807%
1959	66	6,872	0.3617%
1960	67	6,580	0.3473%
1961	72	6,362	0.337%
1962	73	6,115	0.3331%
1963	75	5,765	0.3212%
1964	93	4,562	0.2592%
1965	95	3,926	0.2401%
1966	110	3,206	0.2053%
1967	127	2,711	0.1786%
1968	146	2,182	0.1453%
1969	170	1,868	0.1213%
1970	201	1,586	0.0997%
1971	229	1,278	0.085%
1972	235	1,143	0.0839%
1973	262	924	0.0713%
1974	283	813	0.0626%
1975	298	753	0.0586%
1976	318	670	0.052%
1977	314	714	0.053%
1978	328	657	0.0489%
1979	333	675	0.0479%
1980	311	746	0.051%
1981	314	729	0.0496%
1982	286	822	0.055%
1983	294	758	0.0514%
1984	322	691	0.0465%
1985	337	665	0.0438%
1986	355	632	0.0419%
1987	354	633	0.0415%
1988	346	684	0.0439%
1989	323	747	0.0463%
1990	341	744	0.0449%
1991	360	677	0.0415%
1992	396	612	0.0383%
1993	372	651	0.0418%
1994	369	666	0.0434%
1995	427	572	0.038%
1996	408	600	0.0401%
1997	407	608	0.0411%
1998	425	583	0.039%
1999	442	577	0.0385%
2000	446	596	0.039%
2001	423	631	0.0419%
2002	416	663	0.0442%
2003	429	667	0.0438%
2004	456	620	0.0407%
2005	471	614	0.0402%
2006	476	628	0.0401%
2007	422	739	0.0468%
2008	386	792	0.0512%
2009	382	801	0.0536%
2010	376	800	0.0555%
2011	370	826	0.058%
2012	336	898	0.063%
2013	351	866	0.0608%
2014	316	994	0.0682%
2015	284	1,077	0.074%
2016	272	1,108	0.0768%
2017	274	1,121	0.0803%
2018	285	1,100	0.0801%
2019	268	1,163	0.0859%
2020	266	1,100	0.0864%
2021	266	1,064	0.087%

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Data via SSA.gov.

Names Like Jane

If you like Jane, you’ll love these other names like Jane.

What names are variants of Jane?

Mix it up with these names that are a variation of the name Jane.

Name	Meaning	Origin
Gene	Short for Eugene	English
Gianina	God is gracious	Italian
Gianna	God is gracious	Italian
Giovanna	God is gracious	Italian
Iva	God is gracious	Slavic
Ivana	God is gracious	Slavic
Ivanka	God is gracious	Slavic
Ivanna	God is gracious	Slavic
Jaina	God is gracious	Hebrew
Jaine	God is gracious	Hebrew
Jainee	God is gracious	Hebrew
Jan	God is gracious	Hebrew
Jana	God is gracious	Hebrew
Janae	God has answered	American

Janaye	God is gracious	Hebrew
Jandy	God is gracious	Hebrew
Janean	God is gracious	Hebrew
Janeane	God is gracious	Hebrew
Janee	God is gracious	Hebrew
Janeen	God is gracious	Hebrew
Janel	God is gracious	Hebrew
Janela	God is gracious	Hebrew
Janelba	God is gracious	Hebrew
Janella	God is gracious	Hebrew
Janelle	“Little Jane.” From Jane (a variant of Joanna) and elle (a diminutive suffix).	Modern
Janene	God is gracious	Hebrew
Janessa		American
Janet	“The gracious gift of God.” A diminutive form of Joanna, the feminine form of John.	Scottish
Janeta	God is gracious	Scottish

Janeth	God is gracious	Scottish
Janetta	God is gracious	Scottish
Janette	God is gracious	Scottish
Janey	God is gracious	Hebrew
Jania	God is gracious	Hebrew
Janica	God is gracious	Hebrew
Janice	“The gracious gift of God.” A variant form of Joanna, a feminine form of John.	English
Janie	Well-born, noble; God is gracious	Hebrew
Janina	God is gracious	Italian
Janine	God is gracious	English
Janique	God is gracious	Hebrew
Janis	God is gracious	Hebrew
Janise	God is gracious	Hebrew
Janit	God is gracious	Scottish
Janka	God is gracious	Hebrew

Janna	God is gracious	Hebrew
Jannel	God is gracious	Hebrew
Jannelle	God is gracious	Hebrew
Janney
Janny	God is gracious	Hebrew
Jany	God is gracious	Hebrew
Jayna	God is gracious	Hebrew
Jayne	God is gracious	Hebrew
Jaynell	God is gracious	Hebrew
Jayni	Jehovah has been gracious: has shown favor. Variant of Joan.	English
Jaynie	God is gracious	Hebrew
Jean	God is gracious	Hebrew
Jeanelle		English
Jeanette	God is gracious	French
Jeanie	God is gracious	Hebrew

Jeanne	God is gracious	Hebrew
Jeannette	God is gracious	Hebrew
Jeannine	God is gracious	Modern
Jenda	God is gracious	Hebrew
Jenella	God is gracious; maiden	Latin
Jenelle	God is gracious; maiden	Latin
Jeni	Fair one; white and smooth, soft; God is gracious	Welsh
Jenica	God is gracious	Hebrew
Jenie	God is gracious	Hebrew
Jeniece	God is gracious	Hebrew
Jensina	God is gracious	Hebrew
Jensine	God is gracious	Hebrew
Jess	God is gracious; jasmine; He sees	Persian
Jinna	God is gracious	Hebrew
Joan	God is gracious	Hebrew

Joana	God is gracious	Hebrew
Joanna	God is gracious	Latin
Johanna	God is gracious	Hebrew
Johnetta	God is gracious	Scottish
Johnna	God is gracious	Hebrew
Jonella	God is gracious	Hebrew
Jonelle	God is gracious	Hebrew
Joni	God is gracious	Hebrew
Jonie	God is gracious	Hebrew
Juana	God is gracious	Spanish
Juanita	God is gracious	Spanish
Sheena	God Is Gracious	Irish, Scottish
Shene	God is gracious	Hebrew
Sinead	God is gracious	Irish
Vania	Brings good news	Latin

Vanya	God is gracious; butterfly; brings good news	Latin

What names sound like Jane?

If you like how Jane sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Jane.

Name	Meaning	Origin
Janea		American
Jann	God is gracious	Hebrew
Janne	God is gracious	Hebrew
Jeane	God is gracious	Hebrew
Joane	God is gracious	Hebrew
Jone	God is gracious	Hebrew
June	Month of June	Latin

What names are similar to Jane?

Find a name that’s like Jane, but just a little bit different.

Name	Meaning	Origin	Popularity	Other Gender
Shanae		American

Lists With Jane

Find inspiration in these baby girl name lists featuring the name Jane.

Share Your Thoughts

8 Comments

AnnaKate Nov 2 at 6:40 am

After Jane Austen

Reply
Melissa Mar 18 at 6:36 am

Jane is named after my great aunt Jane, who is no longer living. She was a special person in our family and I’ve always known I wanted to use her name! I love how short and classic it is.

Reply
Sarah Feb 20 at 8:22 am

Jane is such a classic name. It’s feminine but we like the strength of one syllable. We also love some characters and people with the first name of Jane.

Reply
Tawnie Oct 20 at 10:59 am

I love classic names and I’m also very sentimental. I was raised by my grandma whose middle name is Jane. My late aunt’s middle name is also Jane (my grandma’s only daughter), and she was like a second mom to me growing up. So when I had my own daughter I knew I wanted her to be named Jane in honor of these 2 very significant mother figures in my life.

Reply
Emma Jul 6 at 11:39 am

At first I chose the name Jane because I thought it sounded so elegant and lovely, but then I found out there was a Saint named Jane! St. Jane Frances DeChantel has an amazing story of being a mother, then widow and then giving her life to God, even with children! Later on I learned that it was my Grandmas middle name and that sealed the deal for us!

Reply
Abby Sep 28 at 7:42 am

Jane is a family name. My husband and I loved that it was a classic name that we really didn’t hear that often. It also was the only name we could agree on haha!

Reply
Chrissy Glasgow Jun 22 at 10:29 pm

Jane is our rainbow baby so we chose Jane because it means God’s Gracious Gift or God is
Gracious. We choose Bella for beautiful…
Jane Bella meaning God’s Gracious Beautiful Gift

Reply
Alina May 21 at 7:34 pm

We chose the name Jane because it means “God is gracious” and we wanted to have a name that had a beautiful meaning.
And the name Jane itself is short and sweet.
Also, this name is the name of one of my favorite fictional characters, Jane Eyre, which was written by Charlotte Bronte.
And Jane is the name of one of my favorite authors Jane Austen.

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