January

Thanks to two cultural influences, January has joined March, April, June and August as a plausible month name.

The first was a character named January Wayne in a bestselling 1973 Jacqueline Susann novel, Once is Not Enough, which was later made into a movie. Then, five years later, the mother-to-be of January Jones – future Mad Men star – was inspired by that character to give the name to her baby daughter, as did enough other parents in 1978 to bring January to Number 639 on the list.

More recently, January was used by Emily Henry in her popular contemporary romance novel, Beach Read, which might inspire parents-to-be in coming years. As of 2024, it was only used on 11 girls in the US, making it a very rare choice.

So if you're looking for a cool and unusual namesake for a Janet, Janice or Joanna – or for someone with a birthday in the first month of the year , January might be the perfect alternative. January, along with Snow and Frost, are also perfect names for winter babies.

Pronounced jan-yuh-ree; jan-yoo-eh-ree.

As of October 2026, January ranked #10448 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #638 in 1978.