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Janus

UnisexGirls' nameBoys' name

The Roman god Janus

Janus has been given to 168 babies in the U.S. since 1936. It was used fewer than 5 times in 2025, so it doesn't appear in the latest year's list — today it's a genuinely uncommon pick. Its peak year was 1956, with 16 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 76% girls, 24% boys all-time.

Babies named Janus, 1971

1 in 490,000

Janus over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
0510152018801900192019401960198020002020

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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Janus over time

In 2019, Janus went to 0% girls and 100% boys.

19222019

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Janus: meaning, origin, and history

The Roman god Janus

Latin

What Janus means

Janus means “the Roman god Janus”, associated with Iānus.

Origin, language, and formation

Janus is used in English, Danish and Faroese. Its origins include Latin.

Janus comes through Latin Iānus.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Jens.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Janus is pronounced /ˈd͡ʒeɪnəs/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 127 girls were recorded with the name Janus between 1936 and 1971. Its highest annual count was 16 in 1956; its best national rank was #2,975 in 1956.

In the United States, 41 boys were recorded with the name Janus between 1922 and 2019. Its highest annual count was 6 in 1997; its best national rank was #4,620 in 1922.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Janus?

Janus had fewer than 5 recorded uses in 2025, so these figures use 1971, the last year it was published.

Among all babies, 1971
1 in 490,000
7 of 3,432,187 births
Among girls only
1 in 238,000
<0.01% of girls
Rank, 1971
Unranked
Fewer than 5 uses
Coin-flip room size
339,860 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Janus 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 1971 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 339,860 children born in 1971 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Janus. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Januss were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Janus was born before 1951 — so the typical Janus is around 74 today.

Median birth year
1951
About 74 years old
Biggest decade
1950s
44.1% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
78.7%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
78
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

1950s — 44.1% of all recorded uses (56).

Is Janus 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
—
Not ranked then
Rank vs 5 years ago
New entry
Not ranked then
Rank vs 10 years ago
—
Not ranked then
Births vs 10 years ago
—
Not published both years
Share of its own peak
0%
Peak was 1956 (16)
Years since peak
69
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
29.3% average annual change
Best rank ever
#2,975
1956

Spellings of Janus

Janus is not the most common spelling — Janet is, with 43.5% against Janus's <0.01%.

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.

Janus around the world

Where Janus 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.

  • South Australia
    1951–1978
    #424
    in 1978

Popularity data from Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Janus by the numbers

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

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#2,975
1956
Peak year
1956
16 that year
First recorded
1936
Last recorded
1971
All-time count
127
Count in 2025
Under 5

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#4,620
1922
Peak year
1997
6 that year
First recorded
1922
Last recorded
2019
All-time count
41
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Janus

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

JanatJankiJanoraJanariJanahJanakiJanilaJanovaJaneiJanviJandiJanitJannyJanaviaJandyJaninJanaaJanaiahJanalJanyeJananiJanevaJandaJanhvi

Sibling names for Janus

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

Explore around Janus

Top names of 1956, Janus's peak yearThe 1950s in fullOther names that peaked in 1956Girls' names starting with JMoon-Inspired NamesRoman Mythology Names