Boy · #29 in 2026

Julian

Name: Popularity of the name Julian in U.S. births, 1880–2026
Creator: U.S. Social Security Administration
License: https://www.ssa.gov/foia/
Keywords: Julian, baby name, popularity, U.S., SSA, rankings

Julian is a common male given name in the United States, Germany, Austria, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Russia [Iulian (Yulian)] Spain, Latin America, Iulian in Romanian and elsewhere.

English
Polish
German
Spanish

Current Rank

#29

Peak Rank

#29 (2017)

Total Babies

272K

5-Yr Trend

-11%

1890

First Year

2026

Last Year

2000

Peak Year

#1006

Peak Rank

Total Count

128

Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Julian

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)

English
Polish
German
Spanish

The Story of Julian

The earliest SSA record of Julian as a baby boy name dates back to 1880, when 32 babies received it. 2017 was its biggest year on record, with 8,451 newborns named Julian — #37 in the national rankings. About 29% of every Julian on record arrived during the 2010s, its defining decade. As of 2026, Julian ranks #29 for baby boys with 7,169 births, gradually falling (-11%). All told, over 272K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1880s to the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

Top 10

11-50

51-100

101-500

500+

No data

Variants & Related Forms of Julian

Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Julian. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Jolyon
Jools
Julek
Jules
Julyan
Lian

Names that sound like Julian

Phonetically similar names — useful when Julian is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Julian

What does the name Julian mean?

What is the origin of the name Julian?

Julian has roots in the following cultural and linguistic traditions: English, Polish, German, Spanish.

How popular is Julian in 2026?

In 2026, Julian ranks #29 among boys' names in the U.S., with 7,169 babies given the name that year.

When was Julian most popular?

Julian reached its peak popularity in 2017, ranking #29 that year with 8,451 babies given the name.

In which U.S. states is Julian most popular?

Julian has historically been most popular in Rhode Island, Arizona, California. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Julian.

Is Julian a unisex name?

In U.S. Social Security records, Julian is primarily a boy's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a girl's name.

What names go well with Julian?

Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Julian include Francis, Wayne, Lewis. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.

What are nicknames or variants of Julian?

Common variants and related forms of Julian include Jolyon, Jools, Julek, Jules, Julyan, Lian. These cover foreign-language equivalents, alternate spellings, and short forms.

About the name Julian

Julian is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1880 and has accumulated 272K births in the dataset. Julian's peak popularity came in 2017 when it ranked #29. Use the chart and map above to compare Julian's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

Data sources

Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .

Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.