girl's name
Janessa
- Gender Girl
- Letters 7
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 16,054
Janessa is a girl's name. In 2025 it was given to 117 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
- Peaked in 2009, when 556 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 28,337 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1954.
Janessa over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1950s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1950s | 31 |
| 1960s | 84 |
| 1970s | 362 |
| 1980s | 1,724 |
| 1990s | 3,077 |
| 2000s | 4,712 |
| 2010s | 3,691 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,041 |
How popular is Janessa?
In 2025, Janessa was given to 117 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Janessa 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 Janessa
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Janessa also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Janessa over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Sibling names for Janessa
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Janessa — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Janessa
How popular is the name Janessa?
In 2025, Janessa was given to 117 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Is Janessa a girl's or a boy's name?
Janessa is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
When was Janessa most popular?
Janessa peaked in 2009, when 556 babies were given the name. It has been falling over the past decade.
Is Janessa a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Janessa currently ranks #1,697 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.