There are some names whose meanings aren’t that difficult to figure out – Daisy means “daisy”, for example, and Justin means “just”. Maybe this is part of these names’ appeal. They’re straightforward names, and you don’t need to understand Ancient Greek to know what they mean.
Origin and Meaning of the Name
The name Justin derives from the Roman family name Justus, which meant "just, fair, honorable" in Latin. Justus and Justinian, a variant of the name, were fairly popular name choices in the late Roman and early Byzantine Empires. The name was made famous by several early saints and rulers.
Unknown Roman statue; Lady Justice statue, Old Bailey, London
History and Popularity
Today, this given name is used in several countries, including the US, the UK, Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands. In the original form of Justus, the name was a fairly popular Dutch name (often as Joost) during the Middle Ages. Justin has been popular in the English-speaking world at least since the 1970s, reaching the height of its popularity in 1988, when it was the 8th most popular name for boys in the US. Its popularity has since declined, but it still remains among the 200 most popular names.
Line chart showing popularity for the name Justin - from Behind the Name website
Trivia
- Justus of Eleutheropolis or Joseph
Barsabbas is a man mentioned in the New Testament; he didn’t get chosen when
the Apostles were choosing who was to take Judas Iscariot's place, but he later
became the Bishop of Eleutheropolis.
Justinian mosaic, St. Vitale, Ravenna
- Justinian (a Byzantine form of Justus) was the name of two Byzantine emperors. Justinian the Great was a VI century Byzantine emperor famous for re-conquering parts of the Byzantine Empire’s Italian territories. His rule saw the construction of numerous churches, one of the most famous of which is St Vitale in Ravenna, known for its amazing mosaics. The Justinian Code, named after Justinian the Great, was the name of the influential Byzantine legal code.
Allegory of Rhetoric. c.1480 - Justus van Gent, National Gallery, London;
Vittoria della Rovere (1622-1694), wife of Ferdinand II de' Medici as the goddess Flora. ca. 1640. Justus Sustermans, RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History
- Several famous painters of the Northern Renaissance were called Justus. Justus van Gent (c. 1410–c. 1480) was a 15th-century painter from Ghent, and Justus Sustermans (1597–1681) was a Flemish portrait painter.
- In literature, famous Justins include Justin Finch-Fletchley from the Harry Potter books, and Justin (Tiberius Lucius Justinianus), a shy young army surgeon and one of the main characters in Rosemary Sutcliff’s novel The Silver Branch.
- Real-life Justins include Justin Trudeau (1971-), the current Prime Minister of Canada, and Justin Bieber (1994-), a Canadian singer and teen idol.
- Various local forms of the name also mean “just” in their relevant languages, Just, the Catalan form of Justus means "just, fair" in Catalan, and Juste, a French variant, means “fair, just” in French.
- A name book from the 1900s describes the character of the name Justin as: “Unemotional, truthful, and energetic. Usually excels in all forms of sport. Not intellectual, but intelligent and sympathetic nature[1].”
Sources:
https://www.behindthename.com/name/justin/top/united-states
The Wordsworth Dictionary of First Names. Iseabail Macleod & Terry Freedman. Wordsworth, 1995. ISBN 1-85326-366-4
The Meanings of Christian Names. Anonymous. Duff Press, 2011. ISBN 1446536440, 9781446536445
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