girl's name
Juniper
JOO-nih-per
- Origin Latin
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 7
- Popularity Top 100 (US)
- Births on record 24,526
the United States
#100
2025 births
Juniper is a girl's name naming the evergreen shrub, from the Latin juniperus. Its berries flavour gin — the word gin is itself a shortening of the Dutch jenever, which comes from the same Latin root.
- Juniper is a name of Latin origin.
- Peaked in 2025, when 2,646 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 1,253 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1969.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Juniper over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1960s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1960s | 5 |
| 1970s | 126 |
| 1980s | 32 |
| 1990s | 74 |
| 2000s | 619 |
| 2010s | 7,439 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 13,822 |
What Juniper means
Juniper names the coniferous shrub. The Latin juniperus is of uncertain further origin, sometimes connected to junio, young, and parere, to produce, describing an evergreen that stays young — though this may be folk etymology.
Where Juniper comes from
Juniper comes from the Latin juniperus, whose own derivation is unresolved; a common explanation joins junio, young, to parere, to bear, describing a plant that remains green. The shrub's berries are the defining flavour of gin, and the drink's name traces back through the Dutch jenever to the same Latin word — so gin and Juniper are etymologically the same. In medieval Europe juniper was burned as a protective and purifying smoke. As a given name Juniper is recent, part of the modern wave of botanical names that goes beyond the Victorian favorites into wilder plants, and has risen sharply since the 2010s.
Juniper in use
Gin and Juniper are the same word — gin shortens the Dutch jenever, from the Latin juniperus.
How popular is Juniper?
In 2025, Juniper was given to 2,646 babies in the United States, ranking #100 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Where Juniper is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Juniper
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Juniper also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Juniper over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
3 nicknames for Juniper
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Sibling names for Juniper
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Juniper — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Juniper
What does the name Juniper mean?
Juniper names the evergreen shrub, from the Latin juniperus.
Is Juniper connected to gin?
Yes. Gin shortens the Dutch jenever, which comes from the same Latin word.
What are nicknames for Juniper?
June and Juno are the most common short forms.
How popular is the name Juniper?
In 2025, Juniper was given to 2,646 babies in the United States, ranking #100 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Is Juniper a girl's or a boy's name?
Juniper is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Juniper?
Juniper has 3 syllables.
When was Juniper most popular?
Juniper peaked in 2025, when 2,646 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
Is Juniper a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Juniper currently ranks #100 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.