Janet is a medieval diminutive of Jane (itself a medieval form of Joan) and in pet naming it lands squarely in the grandma-name irony category. With 28 registry records it's a deliberate choice: owners who name their cat or dog Janet are playing with the cheerful absurdity of applying a perfectly ordinary human name to an animal.
The Good Place Bump
"The Good Place" (2016-2020) featured a character simply called Janet, a not-a-robot information entity played by D'Arcy Carden, and gave the name a quirky, beloved pop-culture dimension. A pet named Janet carries a gentle nod to that show for fans, and the non-human identity of the TV Janet makes it extra fitting for animals. The human name Janet peaked in US birth records in the 1940s-50s.
Mid-Century Warmth
Janet sits alongside Brenda, Karen, and Linda in the tier of thoroughly mid-century American women's names that feel unexpectedly charming on pets. Cats in particular attract these names; there's a specific subculture of naming cats after 1950s women, and Janet fits perfectly.
The Counter-Reading: Jokes Have Shelf Lives
The ironic-human-name-on-pet trend depends on the name reading as slightly out-of-place. As more pets get names like Janet, the joke fades. Browse pet names for genuinely distinctive options.