Head to head · Boys' names
Ethan vs Julian
#24 vs #25 in 2025
Ethan is a whisker ahead (#24 vs #25 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Ethan is stepping back from its peak, Julian is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Julian has the edge.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Ethan leads 4 measures of 6; Julian leads 2.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Ethan #741, Julian #250 — Julian higher
- 1890s: Ethan #802, Julian #231 — Julian higher
- 1900s: Ethan #1198, Julian #216 — Julian higher
- 1910s: Ethan #1375, Julian #190 — Julian higher
- 1920s: Ethan #1618, Julian #199 — Julian higher
- 1930s: Ethan #1470, Julian #241 — Julian higher
- 1940s: Ethan #1399, Julian #271 — Julian higher
- 1950s: Ethan #1041, Julian #334 — Julian higher
- 1960s: Ethan #622, Julian #353 — Julian higher
- 1970s: Ethan #343, Julian #285 — Julian higher
- 1980s: Ethan #273, Julian #208 — Julian higher
- 1990s: Ethan #64, Julian #128 — Ethan higher
- 2000s: Ethan #8, Julian #73 — Ethan higher
- 2010s: Ethan #8, Julian #44 — Ethan higher
- 2020s: Ethan #20, Julian #32 — Ethan higher
Julian stood higher in 11 of 15 decades; Ethan has held the lead since the 1990s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Ethan | Julian |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #741 | #250 |
| 1890s | #802 | #231 |
| 1900s | #1198 | #216 |
| 1910s | #1375 | #190 |
| 1920s | #1618 | #199 |
| 1930s | #1470 | #241 |
| 1940s | #1399 | #271 |
| 1950s | #1041 | #334 |
| 1960s | #622 | #353 |
| 1970s | #343 | #285 |
| 1980s | #273 | #208 |
| 1990s | #64 | #128 |
| 2000s | #8 | #73 |
| 2010s | #8 | #44 |
| 2020s | #20 | #32 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Ethan
- Canada#15
- France#30
- England & Wales#48
- Scotland#55
Julian
Not charting outside the US.
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Ethan
firm, enduring
Hebrew eitan, firm, permanent, enduring. It is still an ordinary Hebrew adjective: a nachal eitan is a stream that runs all year rather than drying up in summer, and that image — water that does not fail — is the concrete sense behind the name.
eitan → Ethan
How it traveled
Ethan appears rarely and always with weight. The verse in Kings uses him as a measure of wisdom; Psalm 89 is headed as his; and a musician of the name is listed among those David appointed.
Julian
Of the family of Julius
Julian is the Latin Iulianus, formed from Iulius — so the derivation is clear. What Iulius itself meant is not: the two long-standing proposals connect it to Greek ioulos, 'downy-bearded', or to the god Jupiter. Neither has won.
Iulius → Iulianus → Julien → Julian
How it traveled
The Julii were one of the old Roman clans, and Latin regularly built adjectives from such names: Iulius gave Iulianus, 'belonging to Julius'. It became a personal name in its own right across the late Roman world, worn by the emperor Flavius Claudius Julianus in the fourth century and by several early saints, which carried it intact into medieval Europe.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Ethan
EE-thun
Two syllables, stress on the first, with the th of think. Hebrew Eitan puts the weight at the end, ay-TAHN, and has no th at all — the Hebrew letter is a plain t.
- E — The initial said aloud; used for either child.
- Eth — The first syllable, used within families.
- Eitan — The Hebrew form, used in Jewish families as the formal version.
Julian
JOOL-yun
Also said JOO-lee-un, with three distinct syllables; both are standard in American English. The Spanish Julián stresses the last syllable, hoo-lee-AHN, and French Julien is zhoo-LYAN.
- Jules — The standard short form in English, informal; also a full given name on its own in French, where it is pronounced ZHOOL.
- Jay — Initial-based and informal, used where a shorter call name is wanted.
- Juju — A family nickname, mostly used with small children.
- Juli — Occasional informal clipping, closer to the Spanish and German pronunciations.
Who has carried each name
Ethan
Ethan Hawke (b. 1970) — Four-time Oscar nominee (Boyhood, Training Day)
Ethan Allen (b. 1738) — Revolutionary War hero of the Green Mountain Boys
Julian
Julian Barnes (b. 1946) — Booker Prize-winning novelist
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Ethan if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsEthan is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesEthan is 2 syllables to Julian's 3
- a name that charts abroad tooEthan is on the national lists of Canada, France, England & Wales and Scotland
- a newer arrivalEthan entered the US charts in 1882
Choose Julian if you want…
- a name on the way upup 9 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itJulian runs 3 syllables, Ethan 2
- a long American recordJulian was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 62% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 85% for Ethan
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Ethan
Strengths
- A settled Hebrew meaning that is still an everyday adjective in the language.
- Two syllables and a spelling nobody has to be told.
- It works unchanged in English, French, Spanish and Hebrew.
To consider
- It has been among the most given names in the country for two decades, so it carries no signal.
- It resists shortening, which suits some families and frustrates others.
- The very few girls given this spelling will be read as boys on every form.
Julian
Strengths
- An unbroken written record from Roman antiquity to the present, with no gap where the name had to be revived.
- The English spelling is the one most Americans already know, and it needs no repeating or correcting in most rooms.
- Travels well: Julián, Julien, Giuliano and Iulian are the same name, recognizable across Romance-language families.
To consider
- It is high on the American charts and still climbing, strongest in the largest states, so a shared classroom is a realistic possibility rather than a remote one.
- Julian, Julien and Julián are three living spellings of one name, and people who know the others may default to the wrong one in writing.
- Jules is also the usual short form for Julia, Julie and Juliette, so it does not stay unambiguous in mixed company.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Ethan
85%chance Ethan feels dated by 2040
Ethan is coming down from a big peak (#2 in 2009). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
Julian
62%chance Julian feels dated by 2040
Julian is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Ethan and Julian in full.
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Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Ethan and Julian — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Ethan or Julian — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Ethan or Julian?
- Ethan, in 2025: Ethan ranked #24 with 7,852 babies; Julian ranked #25 with 7,603 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Ethan or Julian?
- Julian. Over the last five years Ethan moved down 11 places; Julian moved up 9 places.
- Which is the older name, Ethan or Julian?
- Ethan entered the US charts in 1882; Julian was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Julian is the older name.
- How many people are named Ethan and Julian?
- About 479,000 people named Ethan are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 239,000 people named Julian are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Ethans or Julians in the classroom?
- Roughly 1 in 9 classrooms will have a child named Ethan. Roughly 1 in 9 classrooms will have a child named Julian.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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