Julian

Meaning: Possibly 'downy-bearded youth' or 'devoted to Jove'
Origin: Variant of Julius (from Latin, of uncertain further origin)

Nicknames: Gill

Boy's name · #25 in the US (2025) · 2020s wave

Popularity over time

Julian ranked #25 in 2025 — its strongest showing yet; about 265,000 boys have carried it since 1880. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records.

Already rising, US births of Julian increased from 938 in 1984 to 1,529 in 1985, following Julian Lennon’s debut album, Valotte, released in October 1984.

Across the states

See where Julian is more common.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 51 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Around the world

See how Julian ranks in other countries and regions.

#12 in Argentina (2025) · #20 in Poland (2025) · #23 in Austria (2025) · #27 in Ecuador (2025) · #35 in Mexico (2024) · #35 in Puerto Rico (2025) · #37 in Netherlands (2025) · #39 in Switzerland (2025) · #50 in Sweden (2025) · #54 in Norway (2025) · #154 in Belgium (2025) · #184 in Scotland (2025) and 7 more.

Famous Julians

Julian Assange — Australian editor, publisher, and activist (born 1971)
Julian — Last Pagan Roman emperor, reigned 361 to 363
Julian Seymour Schwinger — American theoretical physicist (1918–1994)
Julian Draxler — German association football player
Julian Barnes — English writer (born 1946)

In stories & tradition

Julian Bashir — Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (TV series)
Julian (Calendar Man) — Batman: Arkham City (video game)
Julian Sark — Alias (TV series)

What Julians become

Among 4,093 notable people named Julian:

Medical professionals appear 1.84× more often than among typical names — e.g. Julian of Emesa, Syrian Christian physician and martyr.

Similar names: Sebastian · Jude · Miles · Adrian · Roman · Lincoln

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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