Junior
Junior was the 752nd most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 343 babies. Its best year was 1925, when it ranked 115th; the most babies were born in 1926 (1,590). Over the last ten years it has moved up 71 places. More babies were named Junior in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Meaning younger (Latin) · Latin, English
Say it JOON-yer /ˈdʒunjər/
- Rank in 2025
- #752 boys, down 2 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 343boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19261,590 babies
- Total since 1880
- 43,182babies recorded
What does the name Junior mean?
Junior began as a nickname for a son who shares his father's name (Jr.), as Wiktionary notes, and is also used as a given name. The American Heritage Dictionary traces junior to Latin iunior, younger, the comparative of iuvenis, young. Wiktionary also notes a town in West Virginia named after a man called Henry G. Davis Jr. Junior has been used in the US since 1882.
iūnior (Latin, “younger”)iuvenis (Latin, “young”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Jr..
See also: Latin names.
Sources for this meaning
- The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th ed., entry 'junior' (etymology), HarperCollins / Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
- Wiktionary, entry 'Junior' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (yob*.txt), team3 computation of first year recorded, US Social Security Administration (public domain)
Nicknames for Junior
The usual nicknames for Junior are June and Junie. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named Junior in the last five years, 17 were named June, against 3 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| June · also for Juniper | Traditional | #2,172 | 299 |
| Junie | Traditional | #9,284 | 13 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Juniors go by each one.
Junior popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 195 since 1920.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #752 | 343 |
| 2020 | #750 | 324 |
| 2010 | #768 | 291 |
| 2000 | #674 | 265 |
| 1990 | #831 | 152 |
| 1980 | #802 | 120 |
| 1970 | #803 | 103 |
| 1960 | #553 | 204 |
| 1950 | #407 | 274 |
| 1940 | #271 | 429 |
| 1930 | #135 | 1,325 |
| 1920 | #193 | 699 |
| 1910 | #458 | 36 |
| 1900 | #666 | 15 |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Junior, counting every spelling?
Junior has no other common spelling that sounds the same. Counting every name's spellings together, it ranks #735 for boys in 2025, against #752 on the official list.
How many kids will share the name Junior?
343 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Junior (0.10 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Junior born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 24 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Junior.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Junior?
About 17,200 people born in the US named Junior are alive today, with a median age of 29; half are between 15 and 65. That makes Junior mostly worn by children and young adults. The wide spread shows a name popular in two different eras.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Junior by state
How common Junior was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Maryland (1.7×). In 18 states fewer than five boys a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Junior: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Junior, they share its era and feel.
Questions about the name Junior
What does Junior mean?
Junior means “younger (Latin)” (Latin, English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Junior?
Junior was the 752nd most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 343 babies. Its best year was 1925, when it ranked 115th; the most babies were born in 1926 (1,590). Over the last ten years it has moved up 71 places. More babies were named Junior in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Is Junior a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Junior in the US.
Where is Junior most popular?
In 2021–2025, Junior was most common in Maryland (0.35 per 1,000 boys), followed by Arizona and New Jersey.