Yul
Yul is a masculine Russian name meaning "bison".
Name Census estimates that about 607 living Americans carry the first name Yul. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Yul today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yul births was 1960 (32 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yul. 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.
People living today
607
~ 1 in 564,669 Americans
Peak year
1960
32 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
2023 SSA rank
#12,197
Tracked since 1957
Popularity
Yul: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yul from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 219 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Yul 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 Yul during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Yuls live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, Alabama, Arkansas recorded the most babies named Yul, while Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Yul
The name Yul is believed to have its origins in the Korean language. It is a variation of the more common Korean name Yulyeol, which means "universe" or "cosmos" in English. The name is thought to have first emerged during the Goryeo dynasty, which ruled the Korean peninsula from the 10th to the 14th centuries.
One of the earliest known references to the name Yul can be found in the Samguk Sagi, a historical record of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, written in the 12th century. The text mentions a figure named Yulyeol, who was a scholar and poet during the Goryeo period.
The name Yul gained wider recognition in Korea during the Joseon dynasty, which lasted from the 14th to the 19th century. During this time, several notable figures bore the name, including Yul Gok (1536-1584), a renowned Confucian scholar and philosopher, and Yul Yeong (1720-1799), a prominent calligrapher and artist.
Beyond Korea, the name Yul has also been used in other cultures and contexts. In Russia, for example, the name Yul is sometimes used as a diminutive form of the name Yulian, which is derived from the Latin name Julianus. One notable Russian figure with this name was Yul Brynner (1920-1985), the actor best known for his portrayal of King Mongkut in the musical "The King and I."
Another famous individual with the name Yul was Yul Edochie, a Nigerian actor, and filmmaker born in 1982. He has starred in numerous Nollywood productions and has won several awards for his work in the Nigerian film industry.
In the Western world, the name Yul gained some popularity in the mid-20th century, likely due to the fame of the actor Yul Brynner. One notable bearer of the name was Yul Anderson (1945-2021), an American actor and singer who appeared in several Broadway productions and television shows.
While not as common as some other names, Yul has a rich history and has been used across various cultures and time periods. Its origins can be traced back to ancient Korea, and it has been borne by scholars, artists, and performers throughout the centuries.
People
Yul + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yul as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Y
Other first names starting with Y with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Yul: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yul?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 607 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yul 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 564,669 US residents.
Is Yul a common name?
We classify Yul as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 669 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yul most popular?
The single biggest year for Yul was 1960, when 32 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yul is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Yul a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yul 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.