Jane

Jane is ultimately considered a feminine form of John, and is related to Jean and Joan. The main problem with Jane as a name is the fact that it rhymes with "plain," which has caused "plain jane" to be a phrase many people think of automatically when they hear the name. In reality, Jane is no more "plain" than any other one-syllable name. Jane has been a regularly used name since at least the 16th century, and was extremely popular in Britain thoughout the 18th and 19th centuries, and enjoyed a peak in popularity in the U.S. in the early 1900's as well. Jane has been somewhat less popular in more recent decades, for various reasons. There seems to be a trend recently of parents looking to traditional names for their children. Jane has that traditional quality, and it has simplicty, and at least a small amount of versatility (nickname Janie) going for it. I would expect to see at least a small rise in popularity for the name in the next decade, either for Jane as a first given name, or a resurgence in the use of it as the second name in combination names like Sarah Jane.