Explore the Family Name Junior

The meaning of Junior

1. Portuguese (Júnior) and Haitian: from the personal name or nickname (distinguishing epithet) Júnior, Junior, from Latin junior ‘younger’, comparative of juvenis ‘young’, used to identify the younger of two bearers of the same name in a family. 2. German: humanistic surname, a translation into Latin of Jung or Junger.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Junior in the United States?

According to the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname "Junior" has maintained a steady popularity over the decade from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, it was ranked 13,931st commonly used surname and by 2010, it shifted slightly to the 14,038th spot, marking a minor decrease of 0.77%. However, in terms of count, it actually increased from 1,986 individuals in 2000 to 2,146 in 2010, an uptick of 8.06%. The proportion per 100,000 people saw a slight decline of 1.35% during this period.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#13,931	#14,038	-0.77%
Count	1,986	2,146	8.06%
Proportion per 100k	0.74	0.73	-1.35%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Junior

When looking at the ethnic identity associated with the surname "Junior", based on the Decennial U.S. Census, there are noticeable shifts between 2000 to 2010. The most significant change was observed among those identifying as American Indian and Alaskan Native, which saw a staggering increase of 202.5%. There was also a marked rise among those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander, up by 68%, and Hispanic, rising by 21.29%. Meanwhile, those identifying as Black saw a minimal decrease of 2.17%. Individuals identifying as White experienced a modest growth of 2.04%. However, those identifying with two or more races dropped significantly by 40.8%.

	2000	2010	Change
Black	55.64%	54.43%	-2.17%
White	32.38%	33.04%	2.04%
Hispanic	6.34%	7.69%	21.29%
Two or More Races	4.73%	2.8%	-40.8%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0.4%	1.21%	202.5%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.5%	0.84%	68%