Justice
Masculine · Latin roots · “Justice”
Justice is given to both — 19,902 boys and 18,772 girls since 1880. See Justice as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Justice is one of the small group of English abstract nouns that stepped over into first-name use, and it arrived with a long life behind it: before it was a given name it was a surname for a judge or court officer, and before that a Latin word for what is due to a person. Two syllables, both familiar, and no one has to ask how to spell it.
How old is the name Justice?
Justice was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Justice alive today was born around 2005, making them about 20 years old. About 19,000 people named Justice are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Justice most popular?
Justice peaked in 1996, reaching #320 nationally. Today it ranks #1112, 792 places below that high. See the whole 1996 chart.
Justice appears on these lists:
Where it comes from
From ius (Latin, 'law, right') to Justice
The story of Justice
The word came into English through Old French justise from Latin iustitia, and by the medieval period Justice was in use as an English surname for a man who held judicial office. The leap from surname to first name follows a well-worn English path — the same road that carried Kennedy, Harper and Mason — while also sitting alongside the older habit of naming children for virtues, as Prudence, Faith and Temperance were named. The related Latin personal name Justus, and its descendants Justin and Justina, come from the same root but traveled separately. Justice as a given name is largely an American story, rising in the later twentieth century and given to boys and girls in close to equal numbers ever since.
Meaning
Justice, fairness — the quality of being just
From Latin iustitia, built on iustus 'righteous, lawful' and ius 'law, right'. As a surname it was occupational, borne by a judge or an officer of the courts.
How the name formed
- iusLatin, 'law, right'
- iustitiaLatin
- justiseOld French
- JusticeMiddle English surname
- Justicegiven name
Related forms: Justus · Justus · Juste · Justo · Giusto · Joost
Pronouncing Justice
JUS-tiss
Stress on the first syllable, exactly as the everyday word. No regional variation to speak of in English.
Nicknames for Justice
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 1996827 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #320reached in 1996
- Change vs 2023
- −25.5%193 in 2025, from 259
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Justice in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Justus in Latin — related form
- Justus in German — related form
- Juste in French — related form
- Justo in Spanish — related form
- Giusto in Italian — related form
- Joost in Dutch — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, California, Texas.
Justices among us
people named Justice are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 8,850 born in 2025 was named Justice
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Vito test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Justice's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Vito climbed just as high around 1925, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Vito's path sketches the road Justice is walking now.
Justice sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Justice is headed
Justice is easing off slowly — about 30% fewer babies a year by 2030 if the trend continues.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Justice beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Justice in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Spelled and pronounced correctly on first encounter by almost any English speaker — it is a word people already read every day.
- Works for a boy or a girl without alteration; the split between the two is close to even.
- Backed by a documented English surname line going back to medieval court officers, so it is not a recent invention.
- Related to a whole family of long-established names — Justus, Justin, Justina — if a more traditional variant is ever wanted.
- Rare enough in any given school that a child is unlikely to share it with a classmate.
- The word carries courtroom weight: Chief Justice, Justice of the Peace, justice served. Most people will simply hear a name, but the association is permanent and worth being at peace with.
- Because it is used almost equally for boys and girls, forms, rosters and strangers will sometimes guess wrong. A middle name that leans one way can settle the question when it matters.
- It does not shorten neatly. 'Jus' sounds like 'juice' and 'Justy' fades with childhood, so in practice the full name usually gets used as is.
- It is occasionally misheard or mis-entered as Justin or Justus, which are close cousins in origin but different names.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Justice to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Justice
Masculine · Latin roots · #1112 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Justices are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 19,000 people named Justice are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Justice in 2025?
- Justice ranks #1112 among US boy names in 2025, with 193 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Justice?
- About 1 in every 8,850 US boys born in 2025 was named Justice — 193 in all.
- Will my child share the name Justice with classmates?
- Justice will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Justice
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Sami#1112 · Cashton#1112 · Kase#1115 · Tiago#1115 · Terry#1115 · Thatcher#1108 · Kanan#1108 · Cullen#1108
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Justice? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Justice and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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