UK boy's name
Julien
A masculine name of French origin meaning "young conqueror of the young world".
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.
Julien is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Julien popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #3254, with 6 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2014, with 15 births.
This profile covers 268 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 40% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 270 living people in the UK are called Julien. 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
- • Julien ranked #3254 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 6 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2014, when 15 boys were registered as Julien.
- • Julien ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #605 in 2021.
- • About 270 living people in the UK are estimated to have Julien as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#3254
2024
Births in 2024
6
Latest year
Peak year
2014
15 births
Estimated living
270
2026
Meaning
What does Julien mean?
The name Julien is derived from the Roman family name Iulius or Julius, which traces its origins to the ancient Roman gens (clan) Iulia. The gens Iulia was a patrician family that rose to prominence during the Roman Republic, and one of the most renowned members was Gaius Julius Caesar.
The name Julius likely comes from the word "Iovilios," meaning "descendant of Iove" or Jupiter, the chief deity in Roman mythology. It has been suggested that the name may also be related to the Greek word "ioulos," meaning "downy-bearded," referring to the youthful appearance of the first bearer.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Julien can be found in the 4th century CE, when it was borne by Saint Julien de Brioude, a Christian martyr from Gaul (modern-day France). The name gained popularity in France during the Middle Ages, and several French kings bore the name, including Julien de Rieux (1238-1286) and Julien de Clermont-Tonnerre (1370-1416).
In the 12th century, Julien Garnier (c. 1120-1185) was a French Benedictine monk and writer who authored a Latin chronicle of the First Crusade. Another notable figure was Julien de Vézelay (c. 1075-1141), a French Benedictine monk and preacher who played a significant role in promoting the Second Crusade.
During the Renaissance, Julien de' Medici (1453-1519) was an Italian nobleman and co-ruler of Florence, known for his patronage of the arts and his role in the Pazzi conspiracy against his brother Lorenzo. In the realm of literature, Julien Pevelair (1674-1744) was a French playwright and satirist whose works criticized the excesses of the aristocracy.
In more recent times, Julien Offray de La Mettrie (1709-1751) was a French physician and philosopher who advocated a materialist view of the human mind, while Julien Sorel (1806-1880) was a French admiral and politician who served as the Prime Minister of France in 1877.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Julien over time
The chart below shows babies named Julien 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 Julien, the clearest high point is 2014. The latest England and Wales figure is 6 births in 2024, compared with 15 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Julien by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Julien 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 | #2500 | 46 | 5 |
| 2010s | #2543 | 86 | 10 |
| 2000s | #1831 | 92 | 10 |
| 1990s | #1363 | 44 | 4 |
Geography
Where Julien is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Julien. 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.
Julien ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #605 in 2021.
Across the UK
Julien in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#605 in 2021
1 years of NRS records, 4 total registered
Notable bearers
Famous people named Julien
-
Julien Macdonald
fashion designer
British fashion designer (born 1971)
1971-
-
Julien Fountain
cricketer; baseball player
professional Cricket Coach (born 1970)
1970-
-
Julien Stair
ceramicist
1955-
-
Julien Temple
screenwriter; cinematographer; film director; director
English film and music video director
1953-
-
Julien Courtauld
(born 1938)
1938-
-
Julien Hoffman
cardiologist
American cardiologist
1925-2020
-
Julien Mitchell
actor
British actor (1888-1954)
1888-1954
-
Julien Cahn
cricketer
British businessman and philanthropist
1882-1944
Related
Names similar to Julien
- 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
Julien: questions and answers
How popular is the name Julien in the UK right now?
In 2024, Julien was ranked #3254 for boys in England and Wales, with 6 births registered.
When was Julien most popular?
The peak year on record was 2014, with 15 babies registered as Julien in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Julien?
A masculine name of French origin meaning "young conqueror of the young world".
How many people are called Julien in the UK?
A total of 268 babies have been registered as Julien across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 4 more in Scotland.
Where is Julien most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Julien ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #605 in 2021. 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.