Julian
A masculine name of Latin origin meaning "youthful" or "related to the Roman ruler Julius Caesar".
Roughly 235,410 people in the United States go by the first name Julian, which ranks #30 nationally when sorted by estimated living bearers. It is a predominantly male name (98.7% of registrations). The average person named Julian today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Julian births was 2017 (8,473 babies). In terms of living bearers, it sits close to Alexandra (235,358).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Julian. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Although Julian is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 3,283 girls registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
235K
~ 1 in 1,456 Americans
Peak year
2017
8,473 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#30
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Julian
Julian leans heavily male at 98.7% of total registrations, but 3,283 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Julian as a male name
- Ranked #30 in 2024
- 7,368 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2017 (8,451 births)
Julian as a female name
- Ranked #6,481 in 2024
- 18 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2000 (104 births)
Popularity
Julian: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Julian from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 79,875 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Julian remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Julian by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Julian during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Julians live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Julian, while Wyoming, Vermont, Montana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 4,963 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Julian
The name Julian has its origins in the late Roman Empire, derived from the ancient Roman family name Julianus. This name traces its roots back to the gens Iulia, one of the most prominent patrician families in ancient Rome, which claimed descent from the mythological hero Iulus, son of Aeneas.
The name gained widespread recognition and popularity due to its association with several notable Roman emperors who bore the name, including Julian the Apostate (331-363 AD), who ruled during the Constantinian dynasty. Julian the Apostate is remembered for his attempts to revive traditional Roman religious practices and his opposition to Christianity, which had become the dominant religion in the empire.
Another historically significant figure bearing the name Julian was Julian of Norwich (1342-1416), an English anchoress and mystic who wrote the influential theological work "Revelations of Divine Love." Her writings, which explored themes of God's love and the nature of sin and salvation, had a profound impact on the development of Christian mysticism in England.
In the 6th century, Julian of Toledo (642-690) was a prominent Visigothic bishop and theologian who played a significant role in the conversion of the Visigothic Kingdom to Catholicism. His works, including treatises on the Trinity and Christology, were highly influential in shaping the theological discourse of the time.
During the Renaissance, Julian Cesarini (1398-1444) was a prominent Italian cardinal and diplomat who played a key role in organizing the Council of Basel, which sought to resolve the Western Schism and address issues of church reform. He was also a vocal advocate for the crusade against the Ottoman Turks.
In more recent history, Julian Assange (born 1971) is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist, best known as the founder of the whistleblower website WikiLeaks. His involvement in publishing classified government documents, particularly those related to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, has made him a controversial figure in the realm of information transparency and national security.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Julian throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields, from theology and mysticism to politics and activism. The enduring popularity of this name can be attributed to its rich historical lineage and its association with prominent figures across different eras.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Julian
People
Julian + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Julian as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Julian: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Julian?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 235,410 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Julian going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,456 US residents.
Is Julian a common name?
We classify Julian as "Common". It ranks above 99.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 260,614 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Julian most popular?
The single biggest year for Julian was 2017, when 8,473 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Julian is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Julian a male name?
Yes, 98.7% of people registered as Julian in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.