Head to head · Boys' names
Justin vs Patrick
#233 vs #235 in 2025
Justin is a whisker ahead (#233 vs #235 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Justin is stepping back from its peak, Patrick is holding its place on the charts. On momentum, Patrick 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, Justin leads 4 measures of 6; Patrick leads 0.
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: Justin #714, Patrick #75 — Patrick higher
- 1890s: Justin #644, Patrick #84 — Patrick higher
- 1900s: Justin #666, Patrick #105 — Patrick higher
- 1910s: Justin #537, Patrick #150 — Patrick higher
- 1920s: Justin #544, Patrick #143 — Patrick higher
- 1930s: Justin #671, Patrick #104 — Patrick higher
- 1940s: Justin #582, Patrick #60 — Patrick higher
- 1950s: Justin #503, Patrick #40 — Patrick higher
- 1960s: Justin #319, Patrick #34 — Patrick higher
- 1970s: Justin #55, Patrick #38 — Patrick higher
- 1980s: Justin #12, Patrick #38 — Justin higher
- 1990s: Justin #18, Patrick #45 — Justin higher
- 2000s: Justin #34, Patrick #100 — Justin higher
- 2010s: Justin #101, Patrick #162 — Justin higher
- 2020s: Justin #190, Patrick #219 — Justin higher
Patrick stood higher in 10 of 15 decades; Justin has held the lead since the 1980s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Justin | Patrick |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #714 | #75 |
| 1890s | #644 | #84 |
| 1900s | #666 | #105 |
| 1910s | #537 | #150 |
| 1920s | #544 | #143 |
| 1930s | #671 | #104 |
| 1940s | #582 | #60 |
| 1950s | #503 | #40 |
| 1960s | #319 | #34 |
| 1970s | #55 | #38 |
| 1980s | #12 | #38 |
| 1990s | #18 | #45 |
| 2000s | #34 | #100 |
| 2010s | #101 | #162 |
| 2020s | #190 | #219 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Justin
just, fair, upright
From the Latin justus, with the ending that Latin used to make an affectionate or smaller form. The meaning has never been in doubt and has never drifted.
justus → Justinus → Justin
How it traveled
The name's first famous holder is Justin Martyr, a philosopher from Samaria who read his way through the Stoics and the Platonists, converted, and then went on wearing the philosopher's cloak for the rest of his life, on the grounds that he had not stopped being one. He argued for Christianity in the language of Greek philosophy rather than against it, and was executed in Rome for refusing to sacrifice.
Patrick
nobleman
The Latin patricius named a member of the senatorial class, and the man who carried it into Ireland used it of himself as a claim about his family in Roman Britain.
patricius → Patrick
How it traveled
Gilla Patraic and Maol Patraic — servant and devotee of Patrick — are all over the medieval Irish records, and the surnames Kilpatrick and Mulpatrick come from them. The plain name is almost absent.
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
Justin
JUS-tin
Two syllables with the weight at the front. French says zhoos-TAN, back-weighted and nasal, and Spanish hoos-TEEN.
- Jus — Cut to one syllable; used among friends and on teams, rarely written.
- Justy — A childhood form, generally left behind before adulthood.
- JT — Initials used as a name where the surname supplies the second letter; common in America.
Patrick
PAT-rik
Two syllables with the weight at the front. Irish says PAW-drig for the Gaelic form, which is a different set of sounds entirely.
- Pat — The standard short form; used for women and men both.
- Paddy — The Irish familiar form; also an ethnic slur in Britain, which cuts both ways.
- Rick — Cut from the back; a standing name of its own.
- Packy — An Irish familiar form from the Gaelic, used in Connacht.
Who has carried each name
Justin
Justin Bieber (b. 1994) — YouTube discovery turned global pop superstar
Justin Timberlake (b. 1981) — NSYNC star turned solo hitmaker and actor
Justin Trudeau (b. 1971) — Prime minister of Canada for a decade
Patrick
Patrick Mahomes (b. 1995) — Three-time Super Bowl MVP quarterback
Patrick Stewart (b. 1940) — Captain Picard and Professor X
Patrick Swayze (b. 1952) — Dirty Dancing and Ghost star
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 Justin if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsJustin is stepping back from its peak
- a name that feels very nowJustin is stepping back from its peak
Choose Patrick if you want…
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 12% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 84% for Justin
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
Justin
Strengths
- Everyone can spell it and say it on first hearing, in almost any European language.
- The meaning is plain, positive and needs no explaining.
- It has forms in French, Spanish, Italian, Polish and Russian, so it travels without becoming strange.
To consider
- It is one of the defining names of its generation and will place a person in time for anyone who hears it.
- Several very famous men share it, and the associations arrive whether or not they are wanted.
- The spelling is recorded for a small number of girls, though it reads overwhelmingly as a boy's name.
Patrick
Strengths
- Everyone can spell it and say it on first hearing, anywhere English is spoken.
- It has a form in Irish, French, Spanish, Italian and Polish.
- The historical figure behind it left first-hand writing, which almost no early saint did.
To consider
- It is strongly and unavoidably read as Irish, which is either the point or the problem.
- The short form Paddy carries a history of insult in Britain.
- The spelling is recorded for a small number of girls, though it reads overwhelmingly as a boy's name.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Justin
84%chance Justin feels dated by 2040
Justin is coming down from a big peak (#7 in 1988). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
Patrick
12%chance Patrick feels dated by 2040
Patrick has held the top-100 across 9 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
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 Justin and Patrick 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 Justin and Patrick?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
- Generation X names (born 1965–1980)
- Millennial names (born 1981–1996)
- The most common names in America today
- all guides
Every list here names both Justin and Patrick — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Justin or Patrick — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Justin or Patrick?
- Justin, in 2025: Justin ranked #233 with 1,512 babies; Patrick ranked #235 with 1,495 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Justin or Patrick?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Justin moved down 68 places; Patrick moved down 30 places.
- Which is the older name, Justin or Patrick?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Justin and Patrick?
- About 753,000 people named Justin are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 558,000 people named Patrick are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Justins or Patricks in the classroom?
- Justin will almost certainly be the only one in school. Patrick will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Justin, Patrick and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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