Julian

JOO-lee-un, JOOL-yun, hoo-lee-AN

English from Latin, variation of Julius

"youthful, downy-bearded, or sky father"

Julian Origin and Meaning

The name Julian is a boy's name of English, Latin origin meaning "youthful, downy-bearded, or sky father".

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.

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 Rank in US Top 1000

# 33 in the US

Julian Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 62 on Nameberry

Julian Popularity

• 33 US 2023
• 62 Nameberry 2024
• 107 Canada 2023
• 31 Future 2028
• 282 England 2021
• 46 Germany 2023
• 46 Netherlands 2023
• 55 Mexico 2021
• 60 Sweden 2022
• 44 Norway 2015
• 94 Belgium 2019
• 32 Switzerland 2023
• 20 Austria 2023
• 23 Poland 2023
• 20 Chile 2021

20 Names Similar to Julian

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Julian.

• Gabriel
• Sebastian
• Adrian
• Jude
• Oliver
• Leo
• Elliot
• August
• Elias
• Simon
• Alexander
• Theodore
• Jonah
• Jasper
• Felix
• Milo
• Elijah
• Ezra
• Julius
• James

Famous People Named Julian

• Julian (born Flavius Claudius Julianus) Roman Emperor
• (John Charles) Julian Lennon English musician; son of musician John Lennon
• Julian Schnabel American painter and film director
• Julian Paul Assange Australian activist and journalist; founder of WikiLeaks
• Julian Ricardo Marley Jamaican musician, son of musician Bob Marley
• Julian Dana William McMahon Australian actor
• Julian Francis Edelman American football player
• Julian Vandervelde American football player
• Julián Elías Gil Puerto Rican actor
• Julian Alexander Kitchener Fellowes, Baron Fellowes of West Stafford, English screenwriter, actor, director and politician
• Julian Richard Morley Sands English actor
• Julian Kayle Mandrake American guitarist of Blue October and Canvas
• Julian Calhoun Adams American actor
• Julian Dorio American drummer of The Whigs
• Julian Casablancas American lead singer of The Strokes
• Julian Hawthorne American novelist and journalist, son of novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne
• Julian David Morris English actor
• Julian Lamar Posey American football player
• Julian David Cope English musician of The Teardrop Explodes
• Julian Seymour Schwinger American theoretical physicist and Nobel prize winner
• Julian Barratt English comedian
• Julian Knowle Austrian tennis player
• Julian Brandt German professional footballer
• Julian Lloyd Webber English cellist; brother of composer Andrew Lloyd Webber
• Julian Weinrib (b. 1982) son of musician Geddy Lee of Rush
• Julian Winding (b. 1984) son of actress Brigitte Nielsen and Kasper Winding
• Julian Messina (b. 1992) son of musician Jim Messina
• Julian Emerson Dilley (b. 1993) one of the first surviving sextuplets in the U.S.
• Julian Henry De Niro (b. 1995) son of actor Robert De Niro; twin of brother Aaron Kendrick De Niro
• (Marcos) Julián Figueroa Fernández (b. 1995), son of singer Joan Sebastian and actress/model Maribel Guardia
• Julian Moses (b. 1995) son of runner Edwin Moses
• Julián Elías Gil Jr. (b. 1995), son of actor Julián Gil
• Julian Naceri (b. 1995) son of actor Samy Naceri
• Julian Murray Stern (b. 1998) son of actress Lisa Kudrow
• Julian Corrie Broadus (b. 1999) son of rapper Snoop Dogg
• Julian Tauevihi (b. 2000) son of actress Stephanie Tauevihi
• Julian Kal Seinfeld (b. 2003) son of actor/comedian Jerry Seinfeld
• Julian Exxel (b. 2010) son of singer Tobial Exxel of metal band Edguy
• Julian Fuego Thicke (b. 2010) son of singer Robin Thicke and actress Paula Patton
• Julian Daniel Wilcox (b. 2010) son of NFL player Daniel Wilcox
• Julian Kahn (b. 2011) son of footballer Oliver Kahn
• Julian Form (b. 2013) son of actress Jordana Brewster and Andrew Form
• Julian Paz Fedorov (b. 2013) son of singer Anthony Fedorov and actress Jennifer Paz
• Julian Lidell (b. 2015) son of singer Jamie Lidell
• Saint Julian Rembert Ravenel (b. 2017) son of TV personalities Kathryn Dennis and Thomas Ravenel of "Southern Charm"
• Prince Julian Herbert Folke of Sweden, Duke of Halland (born 2021) son of Prince Carl Philip of Sweden, Duke of Värmland and Princess Sofia of Sweden, Duchess of Värmland

Julian in Pop Culture

• Julian character in P.D James's "The Children of Men"
• Julian Carax character in "The Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
• Julian Baker character on TV's "One Tree Hill"
• Dr. Julian Bashir character on TV's "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine"
• Julian Luthor character in DC Universe
• Julian Albert Desmond also known as Dr. Alchemy, character in DC Universe
• Julian Gregory Day also known as Calendar Man, character in DC Universe
• Julian McGrath little boy in movie "Big Daddy"
• Julian Perkins character in the "Rizzoli and Isles" series by Tess Gerritsen
• Julian Marquet Sr character in V.C. Andrews' Dollanganger Series
• Julian 'Jory' Janus Marquet Jr character in V.C. Andrews' Dollanganger Series
• Julian "Jules" Blackthorn character in "The Dark Artifices" by Cassandra Clare
• Julian character in Enid Blyton's "Famous Five" series
• Julien Mayfair character in Lives of the Mayfair Witches series by Anne Rice
• Julian character in The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny
• Julian character in Dave Eggers's "What is the What"
• Julian narrator of P.B. Shelley's poem "Julian and Maddalo: A Conversation"
• Julian Sark character on TV's "Alias"
• Julian Moore character in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series
• Julian "Jules" Wyatt main character in G. A. Henty's, Through Russian Snows
• Julian Savage character in "Dark Challenge" by Christine Feehan
• Julian main character in mockumentary "Trailer Park Boys"
• Julian main character in Flannery O'Connor's "Everything That Rises Must Converge"
• Julian Kaye main character in movie "American Gigolo"
• Julian "Bean" Delphiki character in Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game series
• Julian character in video game "Little Fighter 2"
• Julian Kintobor birth name of Ivo Robotnik, villain in the Sonic the Hedgehog series
• Julian Marsh main character in musical "42nd Street"
• Julian Luna character on TV's "Kindred: The Embraced"
• Julian Thompson main character in Nicolas Winding Refn's "Only God Forgives
• Julian character in Brett Easton Ellis' novel "Less than Zero" and portrayed by Robert Downey, Jr. in the film adaption
• Julian Morrow Greek professor from Donna Tartt's novel, "The Secret History"
• Julián Nieves aka El Julí character in the novel "Bianca Nieves y los 7 toritos" by Carrie Toth
• Julian Devorak a plague doctor from the visual novel "The Arcana" by Nix Hydra
• "Julian" song by Say Lou Lou
• Julian Jarman character in Elizabeth Enright's children's novel "Gone,Away Lake"
• Julian a character in the mobile game “High School Story”
• Julian Star character in the anime/manga "Cardcaptors"