Given name & surname · also Latin
Janek
“God is gracious”
Janek is a variant of Jan. In Slavic use, Jan carries the interpretation “God is gracious.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Janek is a variant of Jan. In Slavic use, Jan carries the interpretation “God is gracious.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Janek comes from Latin, and ultimately from Biblical Hebrew.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How it developed
In Czech usage, Janek is a diminutive of Jan.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 2009. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Janek through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 29
- 29 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2022
- 7 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 7 in 2022. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 146 as a first name in 2020; 541 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Janek’s family of names
In Czech usage, Janek is a diminutive of Jan. In Czech usage, Janek has a later derivative in Janeček. In Polish usage, Janek has a conventional naming counterpart in the English form Johnny.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Janek has relatives in 9 languages. Lines run from its Latin roots to each of them.
17 related names in 9 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 15
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 6
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Janek
- Janek TombakEstonian cyclist (born 1976)
- Janek SternbergGerman footballerborn 1992
- Janek ÕiglaneEstonian athletics competitor (born 1994)
- Janek RubešCzech director, cinematographer and actorborn 1987
- Janek LedeckýCzech guitarist and singer (*1962)
- Janek MeetEstonian footballer (born 1974)
- Janek MäggiEstonian politician and sportsperson (born 1973)
- Janek SirrsVisual effects artistborn 1965
- Janek KiismanEstonian footballer (born 1972)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Janek, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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Muso
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Aser
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Matija
“gift of Yahweh”
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Eelis
“Jehovah is my God”
>99% boys