Julian
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Meaning
from the Roman family name Iulianus, itself derived from Julius; the deeper origin is uncertain
Goes by Jules. See all nicknames
The story
Julian's secure path leads through Roman Iulianus to the family name Julius, then stops short of a tidy translation. Julius may connect to a Greek word for downy-bearded or to Jupiter, but both deeper routes remain proposals. The name also carries a surprise in medieval English, where Julian could be feminine. The writer known as Julian of Norwich gives that use its most vivid scene. During a severe illness, she described a religious vision in which all creation appeared as a hazelnut-sized ball resting in her hand. She later shaped her visions into Revelations of Divine Love, identified by the British Library as the first work in English definitely authored by a woman. That scope matters: it is not a claim about every language or every woman writer. Julian's meaning remains uncertain, but the image is exact and small enough to hold: a name crossing gender in medieval English, and a whole created world pictured in one open palm.
Julian across languages
One shared root links 13 names across 5 languages.
Shared root: the Roman family name Julius, whose origin is uncertain; proposed sources include Jupiter, the Roman god, and a Greek word for the first soft facial hair
The constellation
More branches
On record since at least 1342: Julian of Norwich, mystic.
How popular is Julian around the world?
In the United States, 44,794 babies were named Julian between 2020 and 2025. In Poland, 1,925 boys named Julian were born in 2025, the 20th most common name among boys that year.
Julian is on the official records of the United States, Poland, Chile, Argentina, Norway, Austria, Puerto Rico, Mexico City, Spain, Canada, Montevideo, South Australia, Scotland, New Zealand, France, England and Wales, Ireland and Brazil.
Julian crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of an English-speaking birth record and of a Spanish-speaking one. The full list: English and Spanish
United States
1 in 490
In the United States, 44,794 babies were named Julian between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Julian peaked in the 2020s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Poland
1 in 130
In Poland, 1,925 boys named Julian were born in 2025, the 20th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. This registry counts each spelling separately; the figures above are for the exact spelling Julian, and accented spellings are separate names. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Chile
1 in 140
In Chile, 1,231 boys were registered as Julian in 2021, every accent spelling counted together, most often written Julián.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Argentina
1 in 150
In Argentina, 4,491 newborns were given the name Julian in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Norway
1 in 220register 2026
In Norway, 128 boys were given the name Julian in 2025.
share of the boys on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure
People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)
Austria
1 in 240
In Austria, 314 boys named Julian were born in 2025, the 23rd most common name among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Puerto Rico
1 in 460
In Puerto Rico, 39 babies were named Julian in 2025, and 2,037 have carried the name since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
Mexico City City
1 in 530
In Mexico City, there were 223 registrations of Julian in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023 (14 registrations through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Spain
1 in 760
In Spain, 59,313 residents are named Julian, the 71st most common name among men, with a mean age of 58.7 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Canada
1 in 1,400
In Canada, 265 boys named Julian were born in 2024, the 116th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Montevideo City
1 in 1,4002011
In Montevideo, 17 boys named Julian were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
South Australia
1 in 1,8002017
In South Australia, 10 boys were registered as Julian in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Scotland
1 in 2,700
In Scotland, 17 boys named Julian were registered in 2024, the 234th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
New Zealand
1 in 2,700
In New Zealand, 21 boys named Julian were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
France
1 in 3,100
In France, about 205 boys named Julian were born in 2025, the 265th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. This registry counts each spelling separately; the figures above are for the exact spelling Julian, and accented spellings are separate names. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
England and Wales
1 in 4,200
In England and Wales, 141 boys named Julian were born in 2025, the 314th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Ireland
1 in 4,900
In Ireland, 11 boys named Julian were born in 2025, the 348th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Brazil
1 in 26,000
At the 2022 census, 7,633 people in Brazil were named Julian, ranked 2,036th, with a median age of 26.
Among people named Julian living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 402 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
New South Wales
outside the top 100
Julian is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
When you meet Julian
Most people given the name Julian in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
Names like Julian · Names that go with Julian · Nicknames for Julian · Middle names for Julian · Mexican American baby names
The Julian deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Julian truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Julian fits with your family’s names and surname.
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