Janes
A surname usually understood as meaning “son or descendant of Jane” or as a surname formed from the given name Jane/John.
The #4,632 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 40,311 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Most historical surname dictionaries treat Janes as a name built from the given name Jane, with the ending -s functioning like a possessive or patronymic marker. In that sense, it can mean “Jane’s (child)” or more loosely “descended from Jane.” Some older writers also linked it with John, reflecting the tangled medieval relationship between Jane, Jean, John, and related forms in surname formation.
History
The name is recorded in medieval England, with early examples in county records from the reign of Edward III and later spellings such as Jaynes. Nineteenth-century surname writers generally grouped it with surnames derived from personal names rather than from place or occupation. It remains comparatively uncommon in the United States, but is well established in English-speaking surname tradition.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Early surname writers disagreed a bit on whether Janes should be explained from Jane or connected more broadly with John-based name forms.
From the historical record
“JANES, See John. JANEWAY, JANNAWAY. A Genoese. Sec curious anecdote in Eng. Surn., i., 53. JANNINGS. A more correct spelling than Jennings. See John. JANSON. See John, and Janssen.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom