Justus
A masculine name of Latin origin meaning "righteous" or "just".
Name Census estimates that about 9,090 living Americans carry the first name Justus. It is a predominantly male name (91.8% of registrations). The average person named Justus today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Justus births was 2002 (336 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Justus. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Justus with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
9.1K
~ 1 in 37,707 Americans
Peak year
2002
336 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,807
Tracked since 1880
Census
Justus in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 7,413 people with the first name Justus, which placed it at #3,022 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#3,022
National first-name rank
People counted
7.4K
7,413 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
53.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Justus
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Justus is White at 53.0%. The next largest groups are Black (22.7%) and Hispanic (10.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Justus described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Justus at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White53.0% · 3,930
- Black or African American22.7% · 1,684
- Hispanic or Latino10.9% · 809
- Two or more races10.4% · 768
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 142
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 80
Gender
Gender distribution for Justus
Justus leans heavily male at 91.8% of total registrations, but 811 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Justus as a male name
- Ranked #1,807 in 2024
- 90 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2007 (300 births)
Justus as a female name
- Ranked #10,620 in 2024
- 9 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1995 (43 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Justus leans strongly male. 6,823 people counted with this name were male (92.1%), compared with 589 female bearers (7.9%).
Popularity
Justus: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Justus from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 3,053 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Justus 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 Justus during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Justus' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 41 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Justus, while South Dakota, Massachusetts, West Virginia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 140 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Justus
The name Justus has its origins in Latin, derived from the word "justus" which means "just" or "righteous." It gained prominence during the Roman era, particularly among early Christians who valued traits such as justice and righteousness.
Justus first appeared in the New Testament of the Bible, where it is mentioned as the name of a Jewish Christian in Corinth. This early reference to the name dates back to the 1st century AD, indicating its ancient roots.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Justus maintained its popularity among Christian communities across Europe. It was embraced by many devout believers who saw it as a symbol of their faith and commitment to living a righteous life.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Justus was Justus of Urgell, a 6th-century Bishop of Urgell in modern-day Catalonia, Spain. He was known for his unwavering defense of orthodox Christian teachings during a time of theological disputes.
In the 12th century, Justus of Beauvais, a French scholar and theologian, gained recognition for his work "De Vita Christiana" (On the Christian Life), which explored the virtues and morals that should guide a Christian's life.
During the Renaissance period, Justus Lipsius (1547-1606), a renowned Flemish philologist and humanist scholar, made significant contributions to the study of classical literature and philosophy. His works on Stoicism and Neo-Stoicism had a profound impact on intellectual thought during that era.
In the realm of art, Justus Sustermans (1597-1681), a Flemish painter, earned acclaim for his portraits of European nobility and royalty, including those of the Spanish and Austrian royal families.
Another notable figure was Justus Möser (1720-1794), a German jurist, historian, and political theorist, who played a significant role in the development of German Enlightenment thought and advocated for the rights of peasants and the preservation of traditional German culture.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who bore the name Justus, a name that has endured across centuries and cultures, carrying with it a sense of righteousness and a commitment to justice.
People
Justus + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Justus 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
Justus: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Justus?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 9,090 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Justus 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 37,707 US residents.
Is Justus a common name?
We classify Justus as "Rare". It ranks above 97.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 9,870 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Justus most popular?
The single biggest year for Justus was 2002, when 336 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Justus is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Justus in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 7,413 people with the name Justus, or 2.45 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,022 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Justus in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Justus?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Justus leans strongly male. 6,823 people counted with this name were male (92.1%), compared with 589 female bearers (7.9%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Justus?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Justus is White at 53.0%. The next largest groups are Black (22.7%) and Hispanic (10.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Justus most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Justus in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.0% (3,930 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Justus in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Justus a male name?
Yes, 91.8% of people registered as Justus 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.
Is Justus still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Justus in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Justus can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people are named Justus?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.