Given name & surname · also Late Latin
Juniper
“resembling the evergreen shrub with berries”
Juniper is used as a given name and a surname. One Latin interpretation is “resembling the evergreen shrub with berries.” Its derivation is not certain.
Original LatinIuniperus
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Latin interpretation is “resembling the evergreen shrub with berries.” Its derivation is not certain.
Where it comes from
A possible origin is Late Latin, although the derivation remains uncertain.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1969. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Juniper through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 22,117
- 261 boys · 21,856 girls
- Most popular year
- 2025
- 2,646 babies
- 2025
- 2,646
- #100 for girls · #3,894 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +87%
- Rising fast
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 2,618 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 100 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 86.6% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. It also appeared in 28 birth records for boys in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (251). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 8,200 as a first name in 2020; 300 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Juniper’s family of names
In Polish usage, Juniper has a conventional equivalent in the Italian form Ginepro. In Polish usage, Juniper has a conventional equivalent in the Latin form Iuniperus. Juniper has a related form in Junipyre.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Juniper has relatives in 4 languages. Lines run from its Latin roots to each of them.
Latinwhere Juniper comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 10
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- IuniperusLatin
- Juneequivalent
- Guinevereequivalent
- Juniequivalent
- Ginevraequivalent
- Jeniverequivalent
- Ginepraequivalent
- GineproItalian
Show 2 moreShow fewer
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
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