Every Boy Name

Boy's name

Julian

Say it JOO-lee-un 3 syllables

Latin

Common in Poland, the Netherlands, Ontario, and 10 more places. Rare across France, the UK, Italy, and 7 more places.

1 in 66 boys born in Poland in 2025. Number 20 there.

Julian in every place

Rank, count and share in all 40 places: loved in 0, common in 13, rare in 12.
Julian in every place we hold figures for
Place Rankyear Boysshare 5 years earlier
British Isles
England and Wales314 (down)20251411 in 1,9292812020
Scotland178 (up)2025231 in 8542492020
Northern Ireland395 (down)202531 in 2,7613342020
Ireland348 (down)2025111 in 2,1571832020
North America
Ontario (province)88 (down)2024140about 1 in 428722019
Quebec (province)231 (down)202523about 1 in 1,2632142020
British Columbia (province)112 (up)202331about 1 in 4201432018
Nova Scotia (province)Not in the published top 212025Not listed2020
Oceania
New South Wales (state)Not in the published top 1002025Not listed2020
Victoria (state)Not in the published top 1012025Not listed2020
Queensland (state)Not in the published top 1012025Not listed2020
South Australia (state)Not in the published top 1002025Not listed2020
New ZealandNot in the published top 1002025Not listed2020
Western Europe
France264 (down)20252201 in 1,3761382020
Netherlands37 (down)2025296about 1 in 225262020
Central Europe
Austria23 (down)20253141 in 121142020
Switzerland39 (down)20251381 in 261162020
Berlin (city)86 (down)202339about 1 in 398372018
Munich (city)34 (down)202536about 1 in 121242020
Cologne (city)26 (down)202335about 1 in 182212018
Bonn (city)54 (down)202510about 1 in 317102020
Leipzig (city)127 (up)20254about 1 in 7191282020
Rostock (city)96 (down)20252about 1 in 524832020
Nordic countries
Norway54 (down)20251281 in 182532020
Sweden50 (up)2025228about 1 in 189742020
DenmarkNot in the published top 502025Not listed2020
FinlandNot in the published top 502025No list2020
IcelandNot in the published top 102025No list2020
Southern Europe
SpainNot in the published top 1002024Not listed2019
Catalonia (region) (as Julián)288 (up)2025131 in 1,5934552020
Italy312 (new in the list)2024411 in 4,618Not listed2019
Central and Eastern Europe
Poland20 (up)20251,9251 in 66272020
HungaryNot in the published top 1002025Not listed2020
Slovenia223 (down)20256about 1 in 1,2061652020
EstoniaNot in the published top 272025Not listed2020
Moscow (city)Not in the published top 612025Not listed2020
CroatiaNot in the published top 502025No list2020
Middle East
TurkeyNot in the published top 302025Not listed2020
Israel (published as ג'וליאן)810 (down)20246about 1 in 14,1834782019
Latin America
Argentina11 (new in the list)20244,481Not listed2019

Germany publishes no national list; the German rows are city registers. Israel publishes names in Hebrew script; the original is shown beside the name. About: the publisher leaves out its smallest names, so the share is approximate. ▲ and ▼ compare the rank with five years earlier. Not listed five years earlier: not in that year’s list. No list: the place published no list that year. How these figures are computed.

About the name

Julian goes back to the Latin Iulianus, a name formed from Iulius, the family name of Julius Caesar. What Iulius itself means is uncertain: it may mean "descended from Jove", or it may come from a Greek word for the downy first hairs of a young man's beard.

2 more paragraphs

JOO-lee-un has three flowing syllables. Jules and Jools are easy short forms, Julián is the Spanish spelling, and Julien, Giulio and Jolyon are relatives. In medieval England Julian was also a woman's name, which gave rise to Gillian.

Today Julian is most popular outside the English-speaking world, ranking in the top 20 in Argentina and Poland and close behind in Austria. It is also well used in Ontario and British Columbia, though it is falling in more places than it is rising.

Meaning, origin and how to say it

Say it
JOO-lee-un · 3 syllables · Stress on beat 1 of 3.
Meaning
No sourced meaning. We print a meaning only when a dictionary gives one.
Origin
Latin
Spellings counted
Counted together with Julian here: Julián, Júlían.
Related names
Jules, Giulio, Juliusz, Julijan, Julien, Julen, Jools, Jolyon, Julyan, Ulijon, Yulian, Juljan, Juĺjan, Xulián, Julião, Julianus, Giulian, Juliaan
Where Julian comes from (Wiktionary)

Ultimately from Latin Iulianus, from Iulius. The Latin entry calls Iulius uncertain: possibly "descended from Jove" or from Greek ioulos "downy first beard hairs". Medieval English also had a female Julian (Gillian).

Shortened from the Wiktionary entry for Julian. Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Julian over time

Rising in 5 of the 21 regions we can compare over five years, falling in 9. Peak in France: 2017.

Rank in England and Wales, 1996 to 2025

Julian in England and Wales: #274 in 1996, a peak of #267 in 2022, and #314 in 2025.

#1#10#50#100#300#1,000200020052010201520202025Top 101996: #274, 102 boys1997: #304, 85 boys1998: #285, 91 boys1999: #322, 82 boys2000: #330, 77 boys2001: #356, 69 boys2002: #347, 73 boys2003: #370, 74 boys2004: #352, 84 boys2005: #316, 101 boys2006: #370, 92 boys2007: #342, 109 boys2008: #385, 98 boys2009: #315, 129 boys2010: #311, 143 boys2011: #293, 152 boys2012: #326, 137 boys2013: #291, 153 boys2014: #278, 170 boys2015: #272, 187 boys2016: #282, 180 boys2017: #268, 198 boys2018: #276, 181 boys2019: #268, 182 boys2020: #281, 165 boys2021: #282, 166 boys2022: #267, 174 boys2023: #306, 145 boys2024: #280, 161 boys2025: #314, 141 boys#274 in 1996peak #267, 2022#314in 2025
Show the numbers
YearRankBoys
1996274102
199730485
199828591
199932282
200033077
200135669
200234773
200337074
200435284
2005316101
200637092
2007342109
200838598
2009315129
2010311143
2011293152
2012326137
2013291153
2014278170
2015272187
2016282180
2017268198
2018276181
2019268182
2020281165
2021282166
2022267174
2023306145
2024280161
2025314141

Source: Office for National Statistics (OGL v3)

The long view: in France

Half of the boys named Julian in France since 1925 were born in or after 2007. Peak: 2017, about 184 per 100,000 boys. Babies per 100,000 boys, five-year periods.

1925-1929: 2.2 per 100,000 boys1930-1934: 1.6 per 100,000 boys1935-1939: 1.1 per 100,000 boys1940-1944: 1.1 per 100,000 boys19401945-1949: 0.7 per 100,000 boys1950-1954: 0.7 per 100,000 boys1955-1959: 1.2 per 100,000 boys1960-1964: 4.5 per 100,000 boys19601965-1969: 5.8 per 100,000 boys1970-1974: 6 per 100,000 boys1975-1979: 11.7 per 100,000 boys1980-1984: 34.5 per 100,000 boys19801985-1989: 65.3 per 100,000 boys1990-1994: 88.1 per 100,000 boys1995-1999: 88.2 per 100,000 boys2000-2004: 117.3 per 100,000 boys20002005-2009: 130.8 per 100,000 boys2010-2014: 156 per 100,000 boys2015-2019: 166.4 per 100,000 boys2020-2024: 109 per 100,000 boys20202025: 72.7 per 100,000 boys20252015-2019: about 1 in 601 boys
Show the numbers
YearsPer 100,000 boys
1925–19292.2
1930–19341.6
1935–19391.1
1940–19441.1
1945–19490.7
1950–19540.7
1955–19591.2
1960–19644.5
1965–19695.8
1970–19746
1975–197911.7
1980–198434.5
1985–198965.3
1990–199488.1
1995–199988.2
2000–2004117.3
2005–2009130.8
2010–2014156
2015–2019166.4
2020–2024109
202572.7

Source: INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0). Dark bar: the period holding the median birth year.

Brothers and middle names for Julian

Brother names

Names that rose and fell with Julian, from the same generation, with no clashing sounds.

  1. 1 in 83, Austria

  2. 1 in 62, Poland

  3. 1 in 110, Austria

  4. 1 in 25, Poland

  5. 1 in 79, Italy

  6. 1 in 5,230, England and Wales

  7. 1 in 224, Ireland

  8. 1 in 240, Norway

  9. 1 in 78, Austria

  10. 1 in 64, Austria

All 40 brother names for Julian

Middle names

Scored for rhythm against Julian's 3 syllables and for long, steady use.

  1. 1 in 50, Ireland

  2. 1 in 187, England and Wales

  3. 1 in 118, England and Wales

  4. 1 in 105, Ireland

  5. 1 in 61, Northern Ireland

  6. 1 in 130, Scotland

  7. 1 in 112, Northern Ireland

  8. 1 in 88, England and Wales

Full-name check

Julian Jack

Syllables 3-1Initials J.J.No sound clashes between the parts.

All 40 middle names for Julian

Sisters for Julian: Victoria, Stella, Sara, and 5 more
  1. VictoriaRose and fell with Julian · Same generation as Julian
  2. StellaRose and fell with Julian · Same generation as Julian
  3. SaraRose and fell with Julian · Same generation as Julian
  4. LinaRose and fell with Julian · Same generation as Julian
  5. HelenaRose and fell with Julian · Same generation as Julian
  6. LiviaRose and fell with Julian · As common as Julian
  7. AdrianaRose and fell with Julian · Same generation as Julian
  8. LauraRose and fell with Julian · As common as Julian

Girls' names from the same engine, over the girls' lists of the same publishers.

Moved with Julian

The boy names whose popularity rose and fell most like Julian's across every region and decade we hold.

  1. Rare across France, the UK, Italy, and 8 more places.

  2. Rare across France, the UK, Italy, and 17 more places.

  3. Rare across France, the UK, Italy, and 10 more places.

  4. Rare across France, the UK, Italy, and 10 more places.

  5. Common in Italy, the Netherlands, Ontario, and 11 more places.

  6. Rare across France, the UK, Italy, and 18 more places.

  7. Common across the UK, Italy, Poland, and 19 more places.

  8. Rare across the UK, Italy, Poland, and 15 more places.

Famous people named Julian

Julian Schwinger, Julian Draxler, and 6 more

From Wikidata, ranked by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article on them. People: Wikidata (CC0). Links go to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists, else English.

Questions about Julian

How popular is Julian in Ontario?

Julian ranked #88 in Ontario in 2024, given to 140 boys, about 1 in 428.

Is Julian rising in popularity?

Not overall: it is falling in more places than it is rising. Rising in 5 of the 21 regions we can compare over five years, falling in 9. Rising in: Scotland, British Columbia, Catalonia, Sweden, and Poland.

How many syllables does Julian have?

Julian has 3 syllables: JOO-lee-un.

Every rank and count on this page comes from an official birth register. How these figures are computed.

Meanings, origins and people: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikidata (CC0).

The 42 birth registers behind these figures

0kept

Kept names collect here.

Compare