Julian
From Latin: the Roman family name Iulianus marked someone of the Julian line, with a sense of youth running through it. Given only to boys, it has climbed back into wide use and sits among the names that ring familiar to parents today.
Julian Pronunciation
Julian is pronounced YOOL-yahn (/ˈjuljan/).
What Julian means
Where Julian comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Julian comes from Latin. The Roman family name Iulianus meant "belonging to Iulius," so a Julian was, in the oldest sense, a person of the Julian line. The short meaning keeps that double register: należący do rodu Juliuszów and, more plainly, young. Latin gives us the root, and the sense of youth travelled with it, since Iulius itself was often linked to words for youthful strength.
The name spread across Europe and kept close cousins. In Polish records you find the variant Iulian, and for a daughter the form Julianna. Poland gave the name to Julian Tuwim, the poet born in Łódź in 1894, whose verse many children still learn by heart. Saint Julian the Hospitaller lent it a place in the church calendar too, which is why the name has its own imieniny.
Say "Julian" from a school class register and it settles easily between older and newer names. On his name-day a Julian might hear the old sense repeated back to him: młody, young. That is what the Latin left behind, należący do rodu Juliuszów.
How many people are named Julian
1 in 493 men in Poland is named Julian. 43,347 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #207 among male names.
Julian's popularity over time
1,925 boys were given the name in 2025, ranking #39 among newborns. It has been climbing since 2000.
Where Julian is most popular
Julian is most popular in Masovian, 22% above the national average (2,844 boys born 2019–2025), followed by Łódź (+21%) and Podlaskie (+10%). It is least common in Silesian and Opole, 29% and 18% below average respectively.
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Masovian2,844 boys born+22%
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Łódź1,011 boys born+21%
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Podlaskie476 boys born+10%
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Pomeranian1,054 boys born+9%
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Lower Silesian1,097 boys born+6%
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West Pomeranian589 boys born+6%
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Kuyavian-Pomeranian755 boys born+5%
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Warmian-Masurian498 boys born+5%
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Lubusz339 boys born+4%
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Świętokrzyskie377 boys born+3%
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Subcarpathian757 boys born−5%
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Lesser Poland1,345 boys born−10%
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Lublin578 boys born−14%
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Greater Poland1,176 boys born−17%
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Opole249 boys born−18%
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Silesian1,066 boys born−29%
Julian as a middle name
Julian is a first name for 43,347 men in Poland and a middle name for another 22,467, a 66/34 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 86th, between Ignacy (23,016) and Radosław (22,343).
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84
23,662Zenon
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85
23,016Ignacy
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8622,467Julian
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87
22,343Radosław
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88
22,230Gabriel
When Julian celebrates name day
Julian appears 3 times in the Polish name day calendar. The main date is 7 January.