Junior

What Junior means

From the word “junior”

From junior

Source: Wiktionary, “Junior” (revision 93487276), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Junior?

US: Steady: #822 in 2015, #752 now. England & Wales: Falling: down from #283 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1926, when 1,590 boys got the name (#117 that year). First in the US records in 1882.

How common

• About 1 in 4,980 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 3,532 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 1,155 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in NV (0.44 per 1,000 boys), MA (0.41 per 1,000 boys), OK (0.4 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Junior is #752 in the US and #497 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Junior were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

Other spellings

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Janier6 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Junior

Boys

• Malachi#134“my messenger”^*
• Tate#193Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #420 in 2015, #193 in 2025
• Amari#185“Does the given name have different origins?”^*
• Cooper#27Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #77 in 2015, #27 in 2025
• Jack#15Short form of John, possibly meaning “God is gracious”^*
• Emiliano#94Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #94 vs #1,359 in 2025

For a sister

• Gianna#33Same root as Jane, meaning “God is gracious”^*
• Mariana#260Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #260 vs #1,512 in 2025
• Tatum#189Editor’s note Used for both: 49% of US babies named Tatum in 2025 were girls
• Alana#140Form of Elon, meaning “oak tree”^*
• Phoebe#157“bright”^*
• Natalia#144“birthday (of the Lord)”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under where there are enough, topped up with common names whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Junior’s. Place names are only included if they are in the top 300. Rank is US 2025.