Head to head · Boys' names
John vs Julian
#23 vs #25 in 2025
John is a whisker ahead (#23 vs #25 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: John is holding its place on the charts, 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, John leads 4 measures of 6; Julian leads 1.
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: John #1, Julian #250 — John higher
- 1890s: John #1, Julian #231 — John higher
- 1900s: John #1, Julian #216 — John higher
- 1910s: John #1, Julian #190 — John higher
- 1920s: John #2, Julian #199 — John higher
- 1930s: John #3, Julian #241 — John higher
- 1940s: John #3, Julian #271 — John higher
- 1950s: John #4, Julian #334 — John higher
- 1960s: John #3, Julian #353 — John higher
- 1970s: John #6, Julian #285 — John higher
- 1980s: John #9, Julian #208 — John higher
- 1990s: John #14, Julian #128 — John higher
- 2000s: John #18, Julian #73 — John higher
- 2010s: John #27, Julian #44 — John higher
- 2020s: John #25, Julian #32 — John higher
John stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | John | Julian |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #1 | #250 |
| 1890s | #1 | #231 |
| 1900s | #1 | #216 |
| 1910s | #1 | #190 |
| 1920s | #2 | #199 |
| 1930s | #3 | #241 |
| 1940s | #3 | #271 |
| 1950s | #4 | #334 |
| 1960s | #3 | #353 |
| 1970s | #6 | #285 |
| 1980s | #9 | #208 |
| 1990s | #14 | #128 |
| 2000s | #18 | #73 |
| 2010s | #27 | #44 |
| 2020s | #25 | #32 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
John
- Canada#73
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
John
Yahweh is gracious
From the Hebrew Yoḥanan, built from the divine name and a root meaning to be gracious or show favor.
Yoḥanan → Iōannēs → Iohannes → Jehan → John
How it traveled
The name begins as Hebrew Yoḥanan, worn by several men in the Hebrew Bible. Greek-speaking writers rendered it Iōannēs, Latin took it as Iohannes, and from there it split into Jean in France, Giovanni in Italy, Juan in Spain, Ivan in the Slavic east.
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
John
JON
One syllable. The h is silent and always has been in English; it survives from the Latin spelling Iohannes.
- Johnny — The standard affectionate form, used across all ages, and long established as a given name in its own right.
- Jack — Grew out of the medieval diminutive Jankin and has been tied to John for centuries; now overwhelmingly used as an independent name.
- Jon — A clipped spelling used both as a short form and as a separate given name; sounds identical to John.
- Johnnie — An older spelling of the same short form, more common among earlier generations.
- Also J.J..
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
John
John F. Kennedy (b. 1917) — The president who launched America to the Moon
John Lennon (b. 1940) — Beatle who imagined a better world
John Adams (b. 1735) — Founding Father and second US president
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 John if you want…
- a name with fewer syllablesJohn is 1 syllable to Julian's 3
- a name that charts abroad tooJohn is on the national lists of Canada
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 12% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 62% for Julian
Choose Julian if you want…
- a name with more sound in itJulian runs 3 syllables, John 1
- a name that feels very nowJulian is climbing the charts fast
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
John
Strengths
- Everyone can spell it and everyone can say it, in English and well beyond — no correcting, no repeating over the phone.
- Has a form in almost every European language: Juan, Jean, Giovanni, Ivan, Seán, Johannes.
- Carries ready-made short forms with their own long histories, from Johnny to Jack.
To consider
- It has been common for so long that most families already have a John somewhere — a father, an uncle, a grandfather. Worth checking who might feel claimed or skipped over.
- In American slang, "john" means a toilet and also a prostitute's client, and "John Doe" stands for an unidentified person. Old associations, widely known, mostly harmless.
- John and Jon sound identical, so expect the occasional wrong spelling on forms and email.
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
John
12%chance John feels dated by 2040
John has held the top-100 across 15 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
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 John and Julian in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between John and Julian?
Put both to the vote.
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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 John and Julian — the same style, ranked by the same records.
John or Julian — the short answers
- Which is more popular, John or Julian?
- John, in 2025: John ranked #23 with 8,027 babies; Julian ranked #25 with 7,603 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, John or Julian?
- Julian. Over the last five years John moved up 4 places; Julian moved up 9 places.
- Which is the older name, John or Julian?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named John and Julian?
- About 2,822,000 people named John 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 Johns or Julians in the classroom?
- Roughly 1 in 9 classrooms will have a child named John. 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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