Janalee
Feminine
Janalee is two names joined, and the second of them was, for a hundred years, the most common second name in the American South. Lee was given to an enormous number of Southern children after the Civil War, and it went on being given long after most families had stopped thinking about why.
How old is the name Janalee?
Janalee first appears in US birth records in 1934 — 91 years ago. The typical Janalee alive today was born around 1967, making them about 58 years old. About 900 people named Janalee are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Janalee most popular?
Janalee peaked in 1962, reaching #2113 nationally. See the whole 1962 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Jane and its variants from the Hebrew Yohanan to Janalee
The story of Janalee
The Southern habit of using Lee as a second name began as a commemoration of the Confederate general and outlived any conscious memory of him. By the middle of the twentieth century it had become simply what you added — a rhythmic filler that made a one-syllable first name into something you could call across a yard, attached to boys and girls alike, and used by a great many families with no interest whatever in the war. That is the usual fate of a commemorative name: it becomes a habit, then a sound, and the reason drops off the back.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The front is Jana, a form of Jane and so of John, which is a Hebrew phrase about God's favor. The back is Lee, which is an English place-name surname meaning a clearing or meadow. The compound has no meaning of its own; it is two names used together often enough that the space between them stopped being written, which is how a large number of American compounds were made.
How the name formed
- Jane and its variants from the Hebrew Yohanan
- Lee as an English place-name surname
- Southern families adopt Lee as a second name after the Civil War
- the pair fuses into one written word
- Janalee appears in the record in the 1930s
Related forms: Janalee · Jana
Pronouncing Janalee
JAN-uh-lee
Three syllables with the stress at the front and a secondary one at the back. The middle syllable is the weakest and is regularly swallowed altogether.
Nicknames for Janalee
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1934
- Most girls named
- 196231 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2113reached in 1962
- Change vs 2020
- −12.5%7 in 2024, from 8
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Janalee in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Janalee in English — same name
- Jana in Czech — related form
Janalees among us
people named Janalee are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Janalee sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Both halves are complete names, so there are two ready-made short forms.
- It is read correctly at sight and the spelling holds no surprises.
- The rhythm is strong and it carries well when the name is called.
- Every form she fills in will try to split it into a first name and a middle name.
- The second element has a Confederate history that some families will want to know about.
- It is closely dated to the middle of the last century.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Janalee to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Janalee? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Janalee
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Janalees are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 900 people named Janalee are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Janalee in 2025?
- Janalee is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Janalee with classmates?
- Janalee will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More J names
The most-given names starting with J, all years combined.
Jennifer#586 · Jessica#665 · Janet#2778 · Julie#872 · Joyce#1071 · Joan#1085 · Julia#131 · Jean#2117
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Janalee? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Janalee and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle