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Junior

boy name
Origin
English
Syllables
2
Peak era
1920s/2020s
Today
▬ Steady

Torn between Junior and another name? Compare them side by side →

Meaning

the younger; widely used as a standalone first name among Haitian families

The story

Junior began as a comparison: the younger of two people who share a name, or someone lower in age or standing. It did not remain confined to the end of a formal name. In many communities it became an affectionate call name and then a complete given name. Brazilian football offers a brilliant example. Leovegildo Lins da Gama Júnior became known simply as Júnior, a gifted defender and midfielder for Flamengo and Brazil. Supporters called him the Maestro because he seemed to conduct play rather than merely chase it. His public name sounded youthful even as his authority on the field grew. That irony gives Junior more life than a dictionary hierarchy. The footballer did not create standalone use, and the name does not keep anyone permanently younger or secondary. It can outgrow the comparison that formed it. Júnior's career shows a word meaning the younger one becoming the name by which an accomplished elder is honored.

More names with stories →

How popular is Junior around the world?

In the United States, 2,096 babies were named Junior between 2020 and 2025. In Montevideo, 14 boys named Junior were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.

Junior is on the official records of the United States, Montevideo, Scotland, Brazil, Argentina, England and Wales, Mexico City, France, Chile, Ireland, Canada and Spain.

Junior 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 10,000

In the United States, 2,096 babies were named Junior between 2020 and 2025.

peak 1920s2020s

Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Junior peaked in the 1920s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure. In US birth records Junior has stayed between 948 and 3,340 births in every decade since the 1950s: a name everyone knows and few children get.

Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration

See the full list for the United States →

Montevideo City

1 in 1,800 · 2011

In Montevideo, 14 boys named Junior were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.

1970peak 2007

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

See the full list for Montevideo →

Scotland

1 in 2,000

In Scotland, 23 boys named Junior were registered in 2024, the 189th most common name among boys that year.

1990peak 20132024

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

See the full list for Scotland →

Brazil

1 in 2,300

At the 2022 census, 87,633 people in Brazil were named Junior, the 354th most common name, with a median age of 31.
Among people named Junior living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1980s than in any other decade.

1930speak 1980s2010s

people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth

The census also counted 1,541 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

See the full list for Brazil →

Argentina

1 in 2,400

In Argentina, 275 newborns were given the name Junior in 2024.

2012peak 20182024

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

See the full list for Argentina →

England and Wales

1 in 7,600

In England and Wales, 77 boys named Junior were born in 2025, the 497th most common name among boys that year.

1996peak 20102025

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

See the full list for England and Wales →

Mexico City City

1 in 8,400

In Mexico City, there were 14 registrations of Junior in 2022.

2000peak 20072022

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, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023

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France

1 in 16,000

In France, about 40 boys named Junior were born in 2025, the 966th most common name among boys that year.

1900peak 2023

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. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)

See the full list for France →

Chile

1 in 16,000

In Chile, 11 boys were registered as Junior in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.

1920peak 2021

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

See the full list for Chile →

Ireland

1 in 18,000

In Ireland, 3 boys named Junior were born in 2025, the 829th most common name among boys that year.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.

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

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Canada

1 in 30,000

In Canada, 12 boys named Junior were born in 2024, ranked 1,698th among boys that year.

1991peak 20112024

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)

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Spain

1 in 70,000

In Spain, 639 residents are named Junior, ranked 1,922nd among men, with a mean age of 27.3 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

See the full list for Spain →

Austria

last on record 2022

Junior is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.

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)

See the full list for Austria →

New Zealand

last on record 2024

Junior is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.

1960peak 19822025

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

See the full list for New Zealand →

Poland

last on record 2015

Junior is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.

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. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)

See the full list for Poland →

Puerto Rico

last on record 2006

Junior is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 31 babies have carried the name there since 1998.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.

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)

See the full list for Puerto Rico →

South Australia

last on record 2016

Junior is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.

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

See the full list for South Australia →

Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.

All records: the most popular baby names around the world →

Names that fit alongside Junior

Wilson Theo Watson Freddie King Kai

Keep exploring

Haitian baby names · Familiar but never popular

The Junior deep dive

Written for you · $1.99 →

Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Junior 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 Junior fits with your family’s names and surname.

Both reports, explained →

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