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Julian

Gender
Boy
Say it
JOO-lee-an
Origin
Latin
UK rank, 2025
#303 for boys
US rank, 2025
#25 for boys

Julian is a boys' name of Latin origin, meaning “from Julius; perhaps youthful”. In 2025 it ranked 303rd for boys in the UK (167 babies) and 25th for boys in the US (7,603 babies).

What does Julian mean?

Latin: from Latin Julianus, derived from Julius

“from Julius; perhaps youthful”

Borne by Emperor Julian the Apostate and by Julian of Norwich, a medieval English mystic who was a woman.

More on Wiktionary.

Is Julian a girl's or a boy's name?

Julian is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 167 boys in the UK and 23 girls and 7,603 boys in the US.

How popular is Julian in the UK?

Rank in 2025
303rd among boys
Babies in 2025
167 about 1 in 1,800 boys
Five-year trend
Steady down 11% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1% chance among 15 boys

In 2025, 167 boys in the UK were named Julian, making it the 303rd most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 282nd. Its busiest year was 2017, with 220 boys.

Half of all the boys named Julian in the UK since 1996 were born between 2007 and 2020. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier boys aren't counted.

Among boys in 2025, it was 314th in England and Wales, 178th in Scotland and 395th in Northern Ireland.

In the England and Wales top 100 for boys, which the ONS has published every ten years since 1904: 1954 (#96), 1964 (#62) and 1974 (#68).

1996Busiest: 220 in 20172025
Julian in the UK, year by year
YearBoysRank
2025167#303
2024178#289
2023167#304
2022189#277
2021184#287
2020185#282
2019199#270
2018194#289
2017220#272
2016190#302
2015203#283
2014177#300
2013167#302
2012153#333
2011160#316
2010148#335
2009139#326
2008105#397
2007117#351
200695#400
2005102#344
200486#373
200377#385
200274#375
200170#388
200079#362
199986#340
199891#318
199788#328
1996106#288

How popular is Julian in the US?

Rank in 2025
25th among boys
Babies in 2025
7,603 about 1 in 220 boys
Five-year trend
Steady down 9% in five years
Same name in a class
6.1% chance among 15 boys

In 2025, 7,603 boys in the US were named Julian, making it the 25th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 34th. Its busiest year was 2017, with 8,455 boys. 23 girls were also named Julian in 2025 (5,409th for girls).

Half of all the boys named Julian in the US since 1880 were born between 1995 and 2017, the years shaded on the chart below.

In 2025, 8,029 boys in the US were given Julian or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #30.

1880Busiest: 8,455 in 20172025
Julian in the US, year by year
YearBoysRank
20257,603#25
20247,390#30
20237,097#33
20227,305#35
20217,693#33
20207,552#34
20198,443#31
20188,368#36
20178,455#37
20168,388#39
20158,064#45
20147,686#47
20137,521#47
20127,389#53
20117,627#50
20107,589#53
20097,388#62
20087,469#61
20076,781#66
20066,797#65
20056,116#74
20045,673#74
20035,410#77
20025,223#78
20014,944#82
20004,590#87
19993,218#111
19983,053#124
19972,911#131
19962,857#129
19952,703#132
19942,505#140
19932,489#135
19922,548#133
19912,690#122
19902,700#123
19892,210#137
19881,673#167
19871,492#183
19861,546#172
19851,529#174
1984938#237
1983932#241
1982991#235
1981869#252
1980753#280
1979664#300
1978643#293
1977745#266
1976735#264
1975744#262
1974650#288
1973716#264
1972624#296
1971645#303
1970634#309
1969525#344
1968472#355
1967452#351
1966452#354
1965461#352
1964507#349
1963471#360
1962478#365
1961525#344
1960492#352
1959462#365
1958460#358
1957454#357
1956449#347
1955470#338
1954494#328
1953520#314
1952521#312
1951492#314
1950505#302
1949535#292
1948533#298
1947552#295
1946523#279
1945462#280
1944457#278
1943554#253
1942530#249
1941501#248
1940510#238
1939458#252
1938425#266
1937449#253
1936449#248
1935497#234
1934474#241
1933455#244
1932559#217
1931502#233
1930592#219
1929592#214
1928633#212
1927621#214
1926703#199
1925716#195
1924728#193
1923673#201
1922773#181
1921765#182
1920693#195
1919686#185
1918724#182
1917652#186
1916625#187
1915579#191
1914449#189
1913360#187
1912294#196
1911152#198
1910129#201
1909102#207
190888#219
190792#209
1906102#175
190578#216
190465#234
190359#234
190262#229
190166#210
190079#224
189945#250
189869#209
189753#238
189657#240
189555#237
189453#237
189368#206
189252#246
189143#242
189063#207
188949#231
188847#256
188740#250
188650#235
188549#236
188448#247
188348#225
188241#267
188136#262
188032#291

Nicknames for Julian

Names like Julian

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Adrian, Austin, Damian, Roman, Lorenzo, Sebastian, Vincent, Maximilian, Romeo, Elijah, Elias, Josiah

Other spellings of Julian

Julien, Jullian, Julyan, Julion, Giulian

Names related to Julian

Julen, Juliano, Juliann, Juliani

More Latin names

Oliver, Olivia, Leo, Aurora, Emily, Florence, Mabel, Luna, Nora, Rosie, Emilia, Max, Nova, Lucy, Clara, Anthony

Every Latin name

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.

To cite this page: Nameling, “Julian: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/julian, updated 20 October 2026.