Julian
2025 SSA
2025 SSA
About Julian
Cool and charming, with plenty of flair and sophistication, Julian manages to strike the balance between being a sensible classic and contemporary choice. Appealingly international, it is no wonder Julian is a rising star.
Julian for boys#25 US
The name Julian derived from Iulianus, which in turn came from the Roman family name, Julius. Its origins are hard to pin down, but possible roots include the Latin iuvenis, meaning "youthful"; the Greek ioulos, meaning "downy-bearded"; or Jovis, a form of Jupiter, which means "sky father."
A well-travelled name with plenty of history, Julian, rather fittingly, was the name of St. Julian the Hospitaller, the patron saint of travellers. Other famous Julians include Julian the Apostate, a 4th century Roman emperor, the activist and politician, Julian Bond, the singer and documentary maker, Julian Lennon, and the novelist, Julian Barnes.
Beyond the history books, Julian has also made its mark on popular culture. It was used by Shirley Jackson in her mystery novel, We Have Always Lived in The Castle and by Jessica Love in her award-winning picture book Julian is a Mermaid. It has also been given to characters on TV shows such as "Alias", "Law & Order", and BBC "Ghosts".
Julian is currently a firm favorite in the US, where it has been given to 7000 boys each year and remained in the Top 50 for the last decade. It’s also made waves in Austria, Sweden, Chile, The Netherlands, and Mexico, where it ranks in the Top 100 of each country.
The name holds sway with celebrities too, with Robert De Niro, Lisa Kudrow, Jerry Seinfeld, Paula Patton, Robin Thicke, Daniel Wilcox, and Jennifer Paz among those who’ve chosen it for their sons.
Though significantly more popular for boys, in Medieval England, Julian was considered unisex. A handful of girls are still given the name today, though Julia and Juliet are parents’ current preferences.
If the handsome, versatile Julian appeals to you, but the popularity holds you back, then you could consider one of its variants, such as Guiliano, Jolyon, Julen, or Jules, or perhaps even Jupiter for something very bold.
Julian for girls#5477 US
Some may think that the girls have enough variations of the ancient Roman emperor's name Julius of their own – from Julia to Juliet to Julianne – without using the usually-male Julian too. But Julian actually has a long history of use as a unisex name, and was considerably more popular for girls than boys in Medieval England. A famous female bearer is Julian of Norwich, an important medieval mystic and theologian whose work Revelations of Divine Love is the first book in English known to have been written by a woman.
Julian was derived from Iulianus, which in turn came from Julius, a Roman family name. Its origin is shrouded in history, but possible roots include Latin iuvenis, meaning "youthful"; Greek ioulos, meaning "downy-bearded"; or Jovis, a form of Jupiter, which means "sky father".
Pronounced JOO-shul.
As of October 2026, Julian ranked #25 in US births in 2025 SSA, Nameberry popularity #31.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank · boys | Births · boys | US rank · girls | Births · girls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #47 | 7,686 | #4,597 | 31 |
| 2015 | #45 | 8,061 | — | 0 |
| 2016 | #39 | 8,388 | #3,489 | 45 |
| 2017 | #37 | 8,451 | — | 0 |
| 2018 | #36 | 8,367 | #4,109 | 35 |
| 2019 | #31 | 8,441 | #4,389 | 32 |
| 2020 | #34 | 7,551 | #4,114 | 34 |
| 2021 | #33 | 7,685 | #4,553 | 30 |
| 2022 | #35 | 7,301 | #4,718 | 29 |
| 2023 | #33 | 7,091 | — | 0 |
| 2024 | #30 | 7,368 | — | 0 |
| 2025 | #25 | 7,603 | — | 0 |
World rankings
Similar names
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Julian on lists
Famous Julians
- Julian (born Flavius Claudius Julianus)Boy
Roman Emperor
- (John Charles) Julian LennonBoy
English musician; son of musician John Lennon
- Julian SchnabelBoy
American painter and film director
- Julian Paul AssangeBoy
Australian activist and journalist; founder of WikiLeaks
- Julian Ricardo MarleyBoy
Jamaican musician, son of musician Bob Marley
- Julian Dana William McMahonBoy
Australian actor
- Julian Francis EdelmanBoy
American football player
- Julian VanderveldeBoy
American football player
- Julián Elías GilBoy
Puerto Rican actor
- Julian Alexander KitchenerBoy
Fellowes, Baron Fellowes of West Stafford, English screenwriter, actor, director and politician
- Julian Richard Morley SandsBoy
English actor
- Julian Kayle MandrakeBoy
American guitarist of Blue October and Canvas
- Julian Calhoun AdamsBoy
American actor
- Julian DorioBoy
American drummer of The Whigs
- Julian CasablancasBoy
American lead singer of The Strokes
- Julian HawthorneBoy
American novelist and journalist, son of novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne
- Julian David MorrisBoy
English actor
- Julian Lamar PoseyBoy
American football player
- Julian David CopeBoy
English musician of The Teardrop Explodes
- Julian Seymour SchwingerBoy
American theoretical physicist and Nobel prize winner
- Julian BarrattBoy
English comedian
- Julian KnowleBoy
Austrian tennis player
- Julian BrandtBoy
German professional footballer
- Julian Lloyd WebberBoy
English cellist; brother of composer Andrew Lloyd Webber
- Julian Weinrib (b. 1982)Boy
son of musician Geddy Lee of Rush
- Julian Winding (b. 1984)Boy
son of actress Brigitte Nielsen and Kasper Winding
- Julian Messina (b. 1992)Boy
son of musician Jim Messina
- Julian Emerson Dilley (b. 1993)Boy
one of the first surviving sextuplets in the U.S.
- Julian Henry De Niro (b. 1995)Boy
son of actor Robert De Niro; twin of brother Aaron Kendrick De Niro
- (Marcos) Julián FigueroaBoy
Fernández (b. 1995), son of singer Joan Sebastian and actress/model Maribel Guardia
- Julian Moses (b. 1995)Boy
son of runner Edwin Moses
- Julián Elías GilBoy
Jr. (b. 1995), son of actor Julián Gil
- Julian Naceri (b. 1995)Boy
son of actor Samy Naceri
- Julian Murray Stern (b. 1998)Boy
son of actress Lisa Kudrow
- Julian Corrie Broadus (b. 1999)Boy
son of rapper Snoop Dogg
- Julian Tauevihi (b. 2000)Boy
son of actress Stephanie Tauevihi
- Julian Kal Seinfeld (b. 2003)Boy
son of actor/comedian Jerry Seinfeld
- Julian Exxel (b. 2010)Boy
son of singer Tobial Exxel of metal band Edguy
- Julian Fuego Thicke (b. 2010)Boy
son of singer Robin Thicke and actress Paula Patton
- Julian Daniel Wilcox (b. 2010)Boy
son of NFL player Daniel Wilcox
- Julian Kahn (b. 2011)Boy
son of footballer Oliver Kahn
- Julian Form (b. 2013)Boy
son of actress Jordana Brewster and Andrew Form
- Julian Paz Fedorov (b. 2013)Boy
son of singer Anthony Fedorov and actress Jennifer Paz
- Julian Lidell (b. 2015)Boy
son of singer Jamie Lidell
- Saint Julian Rembert Ravenel (b. 2017)Boy
son of TV personalities Kathryn Dennis and Thomas Ravenel of "Southern Charm"
- Prince Julian Herbert Folke of Sweden, Duke of Halland (born 2021)Boy
son of Prince Carl Philip of Sweden, Duke of Värmland and Princess Sofia of Sweden, Duchess of Värmland
Julian in pop culture
- JulianBoy
character in P.D James's "The Children of Men"
- Julian CaraxBoy
character in "The Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
- Julian BakerBoy
character on TV's "One Tree Hill"
- Dr. Julian BashirBoy
character on TV's "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine"
- Julian LuthorBoy
character in DC Universe
- Julian Albert DesmondBoy
also known as Dr. Alchemy, character in DC Universe
- Julian Gregory DayBoy
also known as Calendar Man, character in DC Universe
- Julian McGrathBoy
little boy in movie "Big Daddy"
- Julian PerkinsBoy
character in the "Rizzoli and Isles" series by Tess Gerritsen
- Julian Marquet SrBoy
character in V.C. Andrews' Dollanganger Series
- Julian 'Jory' Janus Marquet JrBoy
character in V.C. Andrews' Dollanganger Series
- Julian "Jules" BlackthornBoy
character in "The Dark Artifices" by Cassandra Clare
- JulianBoy
character in Enid Blyton's "Famous Five" series
- Julien MayfairBoy
character in Lives of the Mayfair Witches series by Anne Rice
- JulianBoy
character in The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny
- JulianBoy
character in Dave Eggers's "What is the What"
- JulianBoy
narrator of P.B. Shelley's poem "Julian and Maddalo: A Conversation"
- Julian SarkBoy
character on TV's "Alias"
- Julian MooreBoy
character in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series
- Julian "Jules" WyattBoy
main character in G. A. Henty's, Through Russian Snows
- Julian SavageBoy
character in "Dark Challenge" by Christine Feehan
- JulianBoy
main character in mockumentary "Trailer Park Boys"
- JulianBoy
main character in Flannery O'Connor's "Everything That Rises Must Converge"
- Julian KayeBoy
main character in movie "American Gigolo"
- Julian "Bean" DelphikiBoy
character in Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game series
- JulianBoy
character in video game "Little Fighter 2"
- Julian KintoborBoy
birth name of Ivo Robotnik, villain in the Sonic the Hedgehog series
- Julian MarshBoy
main character in musical "42nd Street"
- Julian LunaBoy
character on TV's "Kindred: The Embraced"
- Julian ThompsonBoy
main character in Nicolas Winding Refn's "Only God Forgives
- JulianBoy
character in Brett Easton Ellis' novel "Less than Zero" and portrayed by Robert Downey, Jr. in the film adaption
- Julian MorrowBoy
Greek professor from Donna Tartt's novel, "The Secret History"
- Julián Nieves aka El JulíBoy
character in the novel "Bianca Nieves y los 7 toritos" by Carrie Toth
- Julian DevorakBoy
a plague doctor from the visual novel "The Arcana" by Nix Hydra
- "Julian"Boy
song by Say Lou Lou
- Julian JarmanBoy
character in Elizabeth Enright's children's novel "Gone,Away Lake"
- JulianBoy
a character in the mobile game “High School Story”
- Julian StarBoy
character in the anime/manga "Cardcaptors"
- Julian SantosBoy
character in the book "Caraval" by Stephanie Garber
- JulianBoy
Character in video game series Animal Crossing
- Julian FawcettBoy
Character in TV series BBC Ghosts