Justinian

Boys' name

Meaning unconfirmed; recorded in an 1884 name reference

Justinian has been given to 78 babies in the U.S. since 1982. It was used fewer than 5 times in 2025, so it doesn't appear in the latest year's list — today it's a genuinely uncommon pick. Its peak year was 1990, with 7 recorded.

Babies named Justinian, 2014

1 in 530,000

Justinian over time, 1880–2025

Boys

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Justinian: meaning, origin, and history

Meaning unconfirmed; recorded in an 1884 name reference

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Justinian means

Justinian is a given name.

The naming story behind Justinian

Charlotte M. Yonge’s 1884 History of Christian Names includes the exact spelling Justinian in its glossary. The entry labels it masculine and points to printed page(s) 193.

The glossary’s abbreviated description reads: “Ger. Eng. Lat. just”. This is the historical author’s wording, including its language abbreviations and any proposed interpretation. It is presented as historical evidence, not as a verified modern translation. Victorian classifications and root explanations can differ from later linguistic research.

For Justinian, the current short meaning therefore remains unconfirmed. Establishing its modern etymology requires a current reference that documents the exact form and its relationship to the proposed earlier words.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 78 boys were recorded with the name Justinian between 1982 and 2014. Its highest annual count was 7 in 1990; its best national rank was #6,009 in 1982.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

How common is Justinian?

Justinian had fewer than 5 recorded uses in 2025, so these figures use 2014, the last year it was published.

Among all babies, 2014: 1 in 530,000; 7 of 3,706,812 births
Among boys only: 1 in 274,000; <0.01% of boys
Rank, 2014: Unranked; Fewer than 5 uses
Coin-flip room size: 367,053 kids; Even odds of a second one

Where Justinian sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2014 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%

Class of 30Under 1%

Grade of 100Under 1%

School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 367,053 children born in 2014 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Justinian. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Justinians were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Justinian was born before 2003 — so the typical Justinian is around 22 today.

Median birth year: 2003; About 22 years old
Biggest decade: 2000s; 48.7% of all use
Born in the last 25 years: 85.9%; A modern name
Recorded since 1950: 78; People you could plausibly meet

Choose a decade

2000s — 48.7% of all recorded uses (38).

Is Justinian rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago: —; Not ranked then
Rank vs 5 years ago: New entry; Not ranked then
Rank vs 10 years ago: —; Not ranked then
Births vs 10 years ago: —; Not published both years
Share of its own peak: 0%; Peak was 1990 (7)
Years since peak: 35; Years
Year-to-year steadiness: Steady; 9.5% average annual change
Best rank ever: #6,009; 1982

Justinian by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025: Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: —
Best rank ever: #6,009; 1982
Peak year: 1990; 7 that year
First recorded: 1982
Last recorded: 2014
All-time count: 78
Count in 2025: Under 5

Names similar to Justinian

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

Sibling names for Justinian

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

For a sister

Kacy Kortney Mai Shante Kathryne Brittni Kristian Stefani

For a brother

Laron Dejuan Antwon Akeem Tyron Shay Elizabeth Kelsey

Explore around Justinian

Top names of 1990, Justinian's peak year The 1990s in full Other names that peaked in 1982 Boys' names starting with J