girl's name
Jana
YAH-nuh
- Origin Slavic
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 4
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 55,034
France
#223
2025 births
Jana ranks 223rd in France and 1245th in the United States, and its French peak of 485 births came in 2019 — a Slavic form of John that is currently doing better in France than in any English-speaking market.
- Jana is a name of Slavic origin.
- Peaked in 1961, when 1,456 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 18,317 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1921.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Jana over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1920s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1920s | 64 |
| 1930s | 223 |
| 1940s | 1,661 |
| 1950s | 7,084 |
| 1960s | 11,621 |
| 1970s | 9,179 |
| 1980s | 7,285 |
| 1990s | 2,952 |
| 2000s | 2,395 |
| 2010s | 2,531 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,228 |
What Jana means
Jana means God is gracious. It is a feminine of Jan, the Slavic and Dutch form of John, so the sense is inherited from the Hebrew rather than added.
Where Jana comes from
Jana is the feminine of Jan, the Czech, Slovak, Polish and Dutch form of John — the Hebrew Yochanan, God is gracious or God has shown favor. It functions in Slavic languages as Jane does in English, as the ordinary feminine of the commonest male name in the culture. An unrelated Arabic Jana, meaning a harvest or the fruit of paradise, accounts for part of its recent French use.
Jana in use
Jana peaked in the United States in 1961, when 1,456 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It now ranks 223rd in France on 260 births — its strongest market — then 521st in Scotland on 6, 694th in England and Wales on 54, 839th in Ireland on 4 and 1245th in the United States on 181, across 55,034 lifetime births in six of the seven markets we track. France ran its own peak of 485 births in 2019.
How popular is Jana?
In 2025, Jana was given to 181 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Jana is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Jana
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Jana also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Jana over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Jana in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Jana
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Jana — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Jana
What does the name Jana mean?
God is gracious — the feminine of Jan, the Slavic form of John.
Is there an Arabic Jana?
Yes, meaning a harvest or the fruit of paradise. It is unrelated and accounts for some recent French use.
Is Jana the same as Jane?
Both are feminines of John, arrived at separately in different languages.
Where is Jana most used?
France at 223rd, ahead of every English-speaking market we track.
How popular is the name Jana?
In 2025, Jana was given to 181 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Is Jana a girl's or a boy's name?
Jana is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Jana?
Jana has 2 syllables.
When was Jana most popular?
Jana peaked in 1961, when 1,456 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
Is Jana a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Jana currently ranks #223 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.