Meaning and background
The story behind Janis
Janis is an English variant of Janice in Behind the Name’s main entry. The linked Janice reference gives a literary creation: Paul Leicester Ford elaborated Jane for his 1899 novel Janice Meredith. That documents the spelling’s place within a modern literary name family. A dog named after a particular Janis can carry that personal tribute, while the older literary formation explains the related name without selecting the household’s intended namesake.
- Origin
- English variant of Janice, a Jane elaboration created for the 1899 novel Janice Meredith. Source · Source 2
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Everyday moments“Janis, come here!”
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About Janis
Recorded as a dog’s name
Janis appears in 4 dog licence records in the 2022 New York City dataset.
How to read this count
These records cover New York City and may count the same dog in more than one licence period. They are not a national popularity ranking.
Pronunciation and rhythm
/dʒænɪs/
US English sound sequence, converted from the CMU dictionary. Stress marks are shown separately.
Stress on the first syllable in the recorded US readings.
View dictionary notation
/dʒænɪs/ · primary stress on syllable 1JH AE1 N IH0 S
These are US dictionary readings. Personal, regional and other language pronunciations may differ.
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Sources and research notes (2)
- New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene NYC Dog Licensing Dataset — all seven available extract years, retrieved 24 October 2026 — Recorded name spellings in NYC licence-period rows, extract years 2016–2018, 2022–2024 and 2026. Evidence selects one stated year per name. Annual snapshots overlap; never sum them as unique dogs. No national popularity, etymology or owner naming-intent claim.
- Carnegie Mellon University / CMU Sphinx maintainers CMU US English Pronouncing Dictionary — US English dictionary readings; not owner-specific or exhaustive multilingual pronunciation
References support the individual facts shown. A source link does not mean the entire profile has been verified.