Junior
Junior was given to 343 boys in 2025, #752 among boys’ names; 43,182 Americans have been recorded with it since 1882 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 17,300 Americans named Junior and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (40% of everyone recorded); the median is 29 years old and half are between 15 and 65.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Junior by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Junior mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Junior is “a male given name, from a nickname for someone with the title Jr. (junior).”
From junior. The town in West Virginia was established on November 13, 1897, and named after Henry G. Davis Jr. (1871–1896), a son of United States Senator from West Virginia Henry G. Davis (1823–1916) who had been drowned at sea off the Atlantic Coast of South Africa while returning home on the steamship Munkesenton.
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Junior?
#752 among boys’ names, 2025
Junior rose from #823 in 2015 to #752 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 0.14 to 0.20 per 1,000.
1,607 babies in 1927, the peak
Junior peaked in 1927, when 1,607 babies were given it (1,588 boys, #119 among boys’ names). The 343 births of 2025 are 21% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 343 | #752 | 0.20 |
| 2024 | 398 | #683 | 0.23 |
| 2023 | 357 | #737 | 0.21 |
| 2022 | 327 | #773 | 0.19 |
| 2021 | 347 | #738 | 0.20 |
| 2020 | 324 | #750 | 0.19 |
| 2019 | 275 | #821 | 0.15 |
| 2018 | 286 | #792 | 0.16 |
| 2017 | 253 | #862 | 0.14 |
| 2016 | 284 | #811 | 0.15 |
Every recorded year (136)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 275 | #823 | 0.14 |
| 2014 | 278 | #818 | 0.14 |
| 2013 | 296 | #764 | 0.16 |
| 2012 | 272 | #815 | 0.14 |
| 2011 | 285 | #784 | 0.15 |
| 2010 | 291 | #768 | 0.15 |
| 2009 | 336 | #709 | 0.17 |
| 2008 | 381 | #643 | 0.19 |
| 2007 | 401 | #617 | 0.19 |
| 2006 | 379 | #625 | 0.18 |
| 2005 | 370 | #609 | 0.19 |
| 2004 | 316 | #650 | 0.16 |
| 2003 | 311 | #648 | 0.16 |
| 2002 | 311 | #633 | 0.16 |
| 2001 | 270 | #672 | 0.14 |
| 2000 | 265 | #673 | 0.13 |
| 1999 | 206 | #772 | 0.11 |
| 1998 | 213 | #752 | 0.11 |
| 1997 | 214 | #726 | 0.11 |
| 1996 | 209 | #733 | 0.11 |
| 1995 | 224 | #707 | 0.12 |
| 1994 | 182 | #784 | 0.09 |
| 1993 | 169 | #812 | 0.09 |
| 1992 | 181 | #775 | 0.09 |
| 1991 | 158 | #820 | 0.08 |
| 1990 | 152 | #827 | 0.07 |
| 1989 | 142 | #839 | 0.07 |
| 1988 | 144 | #790 | 0.08 |
| 1987 | 135 | #798 | 0.07 |
| 1986 | 114 | #849 | 0.06 |
| 1985 | 111 | #856 | 0.06 |
| 1984 | 101 | #878 | 0.06 |
| 1983 | 107 | #846 | 0.06 |
| 1982 | 132 | #764 | 0.07 |
| 1981 | 107 | #853 | 0.06 |
| 1980 | 120 | #802 | 0.07 |
| 1979 | 91 | #924 | 0.05 |
| 1978 | 83 | #955 | 0.05 |
| 1977 | 102 | #851 | 0.06 |
| 1976 | 104 | #822 | 0.07 |
| 1975 | 80 | #920 | 0.05 |
| 1974 | 87 | #859 | 0.06 |
| 1973 | 100 | #793 | 0.06 |
| 1972 | 84 | #881 | 0.05 |
| 1971 | 114 | #768 | 0.06 |
| 1970 | 103 | #803 | 0.06 |
| 1969 | 135 | #680 | 0.08 |
| 1968 | 102 | #738 | 0.06 |
| 1967 | 110 | #707 | 0.06 |
| 1966 | 135 | #637 | 0.08 |
| 1965 | 149 | #622 | 0.08 |
| 1964 | 173 | #601 | 0.09 |
| 1963 | 158 | #624 | 0.08 |
| 1962 | 177 | #586 | 0.09 |
| 1961 | 192 | #567 | 0.09 |
| 1960 | 204 | #553 | 0.10 |
| 1959 | 184 | #580 | 0.09 |
| 1958 | 201 | #542 | 0.09 |
| 1957 | 243 | #498 | 0.11 |
| 1956 | 230 | #498 | 0.11 |
| 1955 | 232 | #481 | 0.11 |
| 1954 | 263 | #445 | 0.13 |
| 1953 | 225 | #468 | 0.11 |
| 1952 | 254 | #441 | 0.13 |
| 1951 | 269 | #415 | 0.14 |
| 1950 | 274 | #406 | 0.15 |
| 1949 | 284 | #399 | 0.16 |
| 1948 | 329 | #373 | 0.19 |
| 1947 | 388 | #347 | 0.21 |
| 1946 | 351 | #345 | 0.22 |
| 1945 | 401 | #298 | 0.30 |
| 1944 | 392 | #303 | 0.29 |
| 1943 | 416 | #305 | 0.29 |
| 1942 | 416 | #297 | 0.30 |
| 1941 | 398 | #290 | 0.32 |
| 1940 | 429 | #271 | 0.37 |
| 1939 | 464 | #249 | 0.42 |
| 1938 | 517 | #231 | 0.47 |
| 1937 | 562 | #212 | 0.53 |
| 1936 | 637 | #194 | 0.61 |
| 1935 | 677 | #191 | 0.65 |
| 1934 | 816 | #171 | 0.79 |
| 1933 | 822 | #168 | 0.83 |
| 1932 | 1,116 | #145 | 1.1 |
| 1931 | 1,068 | #150 | 1.0 |
| 1930 | 1,325 | #135 | 1.2 |
| 1929 | 1,442 | #120 | 1.3 |
| 1928 | 1,493 | #120 | 1.3 |
| 1927 | 1,588 | #119 | 1.4 |
| 1926 | 1,590 | #117 | 1.4 |
| 1925 | 1,545 | #115 | 1.4 |
| 1924 | 1,495 | #121 | 1.3 |
| 1923 | 1,172 | #139 | 1.1 |
| 1922 | 1,024 | #149 | 0.94 |
| 1921 | 877 | #167 | 0.80 |
| 1920 | 699 | #193 | 0.66 |
| 1919 | 508 | #235 | 0.52 |
| 1918 | 389 | #270 | 0.38 |
| 1917 | 268 | #333 | 0.29 |
| 1916 | 199 | #395 | 0.22 |
| 1915 | 148 | #451 | 0.17 |
| 1914 | 96 | #502 | 0.15 |
| 1913 | 67 | #527 | 0.13 |
| 1912 | 56 | #536 | 0.13 |
| 1911 | 33 | #517 | 0.15 |
| 1910 | 36 | #458 | 0.19 |
| 1909 | 20 | #602 | 0.12 |
| 1908 | 27 | #480 | 0.17 |
| 1907 | 16 | #651 | 0.11 |
| 1906 | 18 | #557 | 0.14 |
| 1905 | 18 | #558 | 0.14 |
| 1904 | 12 | #707 | 0.09 |
| 1903 | 9 | #820 | 0.08 |
| 1902 | 14 | #602 | 0.11 |
| 1901 | 13 | #576 | 0.12 |
| 1900 | 15 | #665 | 0.10 |
| 1899 | 9 | #753 | 0.08 |
| 1898 | 7 | #942 | 0.06 |
| 1897 | 8 | #826 | 0.07 |
| 1896 | 11 | #703 | 0.09 |
| 1895 | 6 | #1,028 | 0.05 |
| 1893 | 7 | #873 | 0.06 |
| 1892 | 11 | #661 | 0.09 |
| 1888 | 7 | #872 | 0.06 |
| 1885 | 7 | #804 | 0.06 |
| 1882 | 9 | #674 | 0.08 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Junior a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Junior has been given almost only to boys: 195 girls in 136 years of records.
Girls and boys named Junior: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Junior, and how old are they?
17,300 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 40% of the 43,182 Americans ever recorded as Junior. The median Junior alive today is 29 years old; half are between 15 and 65.
The 2020 Census counted 26,598 people named Junior (269 women and girls, 26,329 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 18,093 born in the U.S. The Census count is 47% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 1,800 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 2,950 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,490 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 2,260 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 4,750 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 4,010 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Junior born?
The states with the most babies named Junior are California, West Virginia and North Carolina, with 19% of its births recorded by state since 1910; West Virginia is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 2,639 | #650 | 0.9× |
| West Virginia | 2,287 | not ranked | 3.8× |
| North Carolina | 2,286 | #581 | 1.6× |
| Missouri | 2,071 | not ranked | 1.8× |
| Texas | 2,036 | #644 | 0.7× |
| Kentucky | 1,962 | #760 | 2.0× |
| Tennessee | 1,890 | #616 | 1.8× |
| Georgia | 1,832 | #661 | 1.4× |
| Virginia | 1,655 | #704 | 1.6× |
| Florida | 1,623 | #764 | 1.5× |
Where Junior is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Junior is most over-represented in West Virginia: since 1910 it was given 3.8 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Junior with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Junior
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
| Name | Recorded | 1880-2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Edsel | 3,962 |
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Junior and names like it
- Compare Junior and EdselBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sJunior peaked in 1927.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Junior since 1910.
- The top names of 1927The year the most babies were named Junior.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Junior alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with JMost given first.