Justis
Derived from Latin, meaning "just" or "upright."
Name Census estimates that about 1,890 living Americans carry the first name Justis. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 77.5% of registrations being male. The average person named Justis today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Justis births was 1995 (123 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Justis. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Justis with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.9K
~ 1 in 181,352 Americans
Peak year
1995
123 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,577
Tracked since 1975
Census
Justis in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,647 people with the first name Justis, which placed it at #8,729 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#8,729
National first-name rank
People counted
1.6K
1,647 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
49.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Justis
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Justis is White at 49.7%. The next largest groups are Black (21.4%) and Hispanic (13.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Justis described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Justis at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White49.7% · 819
- Black or African American21.4% · 353
- Hispanic or Latino13.9% · 229
- Two or more races10.7% · 177
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.2% · 37
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 32
Gender
Gender distribution for Justis
Justis is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 1,924 total registrations, 1,492 (77.5%) were male and 432 (22.5%) were female.
Justis as a male name
- Ranked #11,577 in 2024
- 6 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1996 (90 births)
Justis as a female name
- Ranked #14,215 in 2020
- 6 female births in 2020
- Peak: 1995 (37 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Justis on both sides of the split. Of the 1,645 people counted with this name, 1,265 were male (76.9%) and 380 were female (23.1%).
Popularity
Justis: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Justis from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 750 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Justis by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Justis during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Justis' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 14 states and territories. California, Florida, Texas recorded the most babies named Justis, while Ohio, North Carolina, Missouri recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 21 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Justis
The name Justis has its origins in the Latin language, where it is derived from the word "justus," meaning "just" or "righteous." This name has been in use for over two millennia, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to ancient Roman times.
In the early days of Christianity, Justis was a name given to individuals who were perceived as upholding the virtues of justice and righteousness. It was often bestowed upon those who dedicated their lives to the service of God and the pursuit of moral integrity.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name Justis was Saint Justus, a Roman Christian martyr who lived in the 3rd century AD. He was executed during the persecution of Christians under the Roman Emperor Diocletian for refusing to renounce his faith.
Another notable figure with the name Justis was Justus of Ghent, a Flemish Renaissance painter and manuscript illuminator who lived from approximately 1430 to 1480. He is renowned for his masterful illuminated manuscripts, which are now housed in various museums and libraries across Europe.
During the Middle Ages, the name Justis gained popularity among the nobility and upper classes, who often chose names with religious or moral connotations for their children. One such individual was Justis of Lübeck, a German nobleman and crusader who participated in the Third Crusade under the leadership of Richard the Lionheart in the late 12th century.
In the 16th century, the name Justis was borne by Justus Jonas, a German Lutheran reformer and close associate of Martin Luther. He played a crucial role in the Protestant Reformation and was a prolific writer and translator of religious texts.
Another notable bearer of the name Justis was Justus Lipsius, a Flemish philosopher, and humanist who lived from 1547 to 1606. He was a renowned scholar and writer who made significant contributions to the fields of philology, philosophy, and political theory.
Throughout history, the name Justis has been associated with individuals who have embodied the virtues of justice, righteousness, and moral fortitude. While its popularity has waxed and waned over the centuries, it remains a name that carries a rich legacy and a strong connection to the ideals of fairness and integrity.
People
Justis + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Justis as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Justis: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Justis?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,890 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Justis going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 181,352 US residents.
Is Justis a common name?
We classify Justis as "Rare". It ranks above 93.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,924 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Justis most popular?
The single biggest year for Justis was 1995, when 123 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Justis is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Justis in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,647 people with the name Justis, or 0.55 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,729 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Justis in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Justis?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Justis on both sides of the split. Of the 1,645 people counted with this name, 1,265 were male (76.9%) and 380 were female (23.1%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Justis?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Justis is White at 49.7%. The next largest groups are Black (21.4%) and Hispanic (13.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Justis most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Justis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.7% (819 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Justis in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Justis a male name?
Yes, 77.5% of people registered as Justis in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Justis still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Justis in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Justis can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Justis as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.