Janaki

#11,324 in 2025Girls' name

To give birth, through जनक

Janaki has been given to 197 babies in the U.S. since 1978. In 2025 it ranked #11,324 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 1981, with 9 recorded.

Babies named Janaki, 2025

1 in 414,000

Janaki over time, 1880–2025

Girls

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Janaki: meaning, origin, and history

To give birth, through जनक

Sanskrit

What Janaki means

Janaki belongs to the name family reached through Janaki → जनक. Its meaning is “to give birth”.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

Borrowed from Sanskrit जानकी (jānakī), from Sanskrit जनक (janaka).

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Janaki (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Janaki is used in English. Its origins include Sanskrit.

Janaki comes through Sanskrit जनक.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include जनक.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 197 girls were recorded with the name Janaki between 1978 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 9 in 1981; its best national rank was #7,010 in 1981.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #12,701 in 2020 to #11,324 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #17,566 in 2015 to #11,324 in 2025.

How common is Janaki?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025: 1 in 414,000; 8 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only: 1 in 201,000; <0.01% of girls
Rank, 2025: #11,324; of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size: 287,238 kids; Even odds of a second one

Where Janaki sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%

Class of 30Under 1%

Grade of 100Under 1%

School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 287,238 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Janaki. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Janakis were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Janaki was born before 2003 — so the typical Janaki is around 22 today.

Median birth year: 2003; About 22 years old
Biggest decade: 2010s; 22.8% of all use
Born in the last 25 years: 61.4%; A modern name
Recorded since 1950: 197; People you could plausibly meet

Choose a decade

2010s — 22.8% of all recorded uses (45).

Is Janaki rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago: +1,375; Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago: +1,377; Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago: +6,242; Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago: 1.60×; More babies than then
Share of its own peak: 88.9%; Peak was 1981 (9)
Years since peak: 44; Years
Year-to-year steadiness: Volatile; 27.5% average annual change
Best rank ever: #7,010; 1981

Spellings of Janaki

Janaki is not the most common spelling — Jana is, with 38.1% against Janaki's 0.16%.

Jana38.1%46,185
Anahi16.0%19,359
Janae14.9%18,052
Janay4.8%5,832
Sanai3.5%4,236
Janaya3.3%3,965
Jacki2.9%3,518
Janai2.6%3,099

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Janaki around the world

Where Janaki ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

England & Wales
1997–2025
#2,788
in 2025
Ireland
2025–2025
#885
in 2025
Canada
2023–2023
#2,672
in 2023
South Australia
1981–1998
#710
in 1998

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Central Statistics Office, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. CSO, CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence.

Janaki by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025: #11,324
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: Up 1,377
Best rank ever: #7,010; 1981
Peak year: 1981; 9 that year
First recorded: 1978
Last recorded: 2025
All-time count: 197
Count in 2025: 8

Names similar to Janaki

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

Janila Janova Janari Janora Janani Janeva Janaria Janaiah Janeliz Janat Janki Janeli Janelli Janelys Janavia Janitza Maraki Janeah Jancie Janiel Janace Janah Jansen Janelis

Sibling names for Janaki

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

For a sister

Charissa Tosha Malissa Chrystal Linsey Thomas Tiffani Daniel

For a brother

Elizabeth Derrell Torrey Whitney Jerod Shon Edwardo Scot

Explore around Janaki

Top names of 1981, Janaki's peak year The 1980s in full Other names that peaked in 1981 Girls' names starting with J