UK boy's name
Juan
A masculine Spanish name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is gracious".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Juan is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Juan popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #1595, with 16 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2006, with 42 births.
This profile covers 704 England and Wales registrations across 29 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales and NRS Scotland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 38% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 708 living people in the UK are called Juan. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Juan ranked #1595 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 16 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2006, when 42 boys were registered as Juan.
- • Juan ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #595 in 2007.
- • About 708 living people in the UK are estimated to have Juan as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#1595
2024
Births in 2024
16
Latest year
Peak year
2006
42 births
Estimated living
708
2026
Meaning
What does Juan mean?
The given name Juan has its origins in the Hebrew name Yohanan, meaning "Yahweh is gracious" or "Graced by God". It is derived from the root words yo (meaning Yahweh) and hanan (meaning to be gracious or merciful). The name was later Latinized into the form Johannes during the spread of Christianity.
Juan is the Spanish variant of Johannes, which emerged in the Iberian Peninsula during the early Middle Ages. The name was introduced to the region by Christian missionaries and became widely adopted among the local population. It was particularly popular in areas that had been under Moorish rule, as Juan represented a Christian name distinct from Arabic names.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Juan can be found in the Codex Calixtinus, a 12th-century manuscript that documented the journey of pilgrims along the Camino de Santiago. The text mentions a Spanish nobleman named Juan Arias who assisted pilgrims along the route.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Juan. In the 15th century, Juan de Torquemada (1388-1468) was a Spanish Catholic cardinal and theologian who played a significant role in the Spanish Inquisition. Juan Ponce de León (1460-1521) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador credited with the first European expedition to Florida and the search for the mythical Fountain of Youth.
During the Golden Age of Spanish literature, Juan Ruiz (c. 1283-1350) was a renowned poet and author of the satirical masterpiece "Libro de Buen Amor" (Book of Good Love). Juan de la Cruz (1542-1591), a Carmelite friar and mystic, is revered as one of the greatest poets and spiritual writers in the Spanish language.
In the realm of art, Juan Gris (1887-1927) was a renowned Spanish Cubist painter and sculptor, known for his innovative approach to depicting synthetic cubism on canvas. Juan Miró (1893-1983), a surrealist artist from Barcelona, is celebrated for his abstract and whimsical paintings, sculptures, and ceramics.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals throughout history who have borne the given name Juan, reflecting its enduring legacy and cultural significance in the Spanish-speaking world.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Juan over time
The chart below shows babies named Juan registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Juan, the clearest high point is 2006. The latest England and Wales figure is 16 births in 2024, compared with 42 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Juan by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Juan was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #1320 | 105 | 5 |
| 2010s | #1176 | 238 | 10 |
| 2000s | #772 | 300 | 10 |
| 1990s | #982 | 61 | 4 |
Geography
Where Juan is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Juan. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.
Juan ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #595 in 2007.
Across the UK
Juan in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#595 in 2007
3 years of NRS records, 10 total registered
Notable bearers
Famous people named Juan
-
Juan Roderick
basketball player
Welsh basketball player (born 2003)
2003-
-
Juan Watterson
politician; accountant
Manx politician (born 1980)
1980-
-
Juan Lopez-Valcarcel
entrepreneur
Entrepreneur from the United Kingdom
1974-
-
Juan Aparicio Belmonte
writer; novelist
Spanish writer
1971-
-
Juan Carlos de Lizárraga y de Curiel d'Asturies
(born 1969)
1969-
-
Juan Bravo Rivera
politician; civil servant
public Administrator
1963-
-
Juan Coderch
writer; classical philologist; university teacher
British philologist
1962-
-
Juan Calixto Sánchez Whyte
military personnel
Cuban military personnel
1924-1957
Related
Names similar to Juan
- Jack 188,738
- Joshua 145,192
- James 141,878
- Joseph 102,259
- Jacob 93,754
- Jake 66,896
- Jamie 41,243
- Jordan 36,750
- Jayden 28,921
- Jude 24,156
- John 22,240
- Joe 19,164
FAQ
Juan: questions and answers
How popular is the name Juan in the UK right now?
In 2024, Juan was ranked #1595 for boys in England and Wales, with 16 births registered.
When was Juan most popular?
The peak year on record was 2006, with 42 babies registered as Juan in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Juan?
A masculine Spanish name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is gracious".
How many people are called Juan in the UK?
A total of 704 babies have been registered as Juan across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 10 more in Scotland.
Where is Juan most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Juan ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #595 in 2007. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.