I was watching this TV show called The Sopranos. Why does Tony called his uncle "Junior" when obviously he is younger than his uncle?

I think uncle jun was named after someone. Sometimes if someone is named after their father or another relative they will be called junior or jr

Junior is a suffix added to someone's name to indicate that they are not their father. So John Senior's son is John Junior. Presumably, Junior's first name was the name of his father, right? And Tony's dad is Junior's younger brother. I say younger because generally the Junior is the first born son, not always, I'm sure, but every one I've met has been the first born son.

The uncle's name is "Corrado Soprano Jr." ("Jr." being an abbreviation for "Junior", indicating that he's the younger of two individuals with the same name), differentiating him from his father "Corrado Soprano Sr." ("Sr." being an abbreviation for "Senior", indicating that he was the elder).

He is Corrado Soprano Jr., his father was Tony’s grandfather Corrado Soprano Sr.

It's a nickname, which could be based on something logical, or could be totally made up with no reason behind it. But if there was a logical reason for it, it might be that he was named after his father. For example, I had an uncle named John. His father was also John, and they had the same last name. So to differentiate them, my uncle was John jr ("jr" being the abbreviation for "junior"). But everyone called him "Little John" despite the fact that he was a very large man.

Besides the answers others has given, sometimes “Junior” can just be a name by itself. I went to middle school with a boy named “Junior” and that was his actual first name. That’s not the reason in this case (his uncle was named after his grandfather) but just something to keep in mind.

People have covered the likely reasons in this particular case -- it's also worth noting that often nicknames are \*meant\* to be ironic. Calling someone old than you 'kid' or calling a small child 'big guy'. It might be insulting, but it can also be a joke \*because\* of how NOT true it is.

Also, the Mafia are famous for having a particular type of colorful nickname, and the writers put a lot of love into gems like Paulie Walnuts, Big Pussy, and Uncle Junior. The practice of adopting aliases almost from birth reflects their both their heritage and criminality in a symbolic way, and the juxtaposition of a deeply-held culture of respect and honor with absurd nicknames is part of the popular fascination with the mob.

As many people have said - it's a common naming scheme to differentiate a father and son with the same name.  If the father's name is John, they may become John Senior and their son John, John Junior.  If John Junior then had a son and named him John, the son would be John the third.  I found an article about the broader scheme of reusing a name: https://www.thebump.com/a/how-to-pass-down-name-to-baby When I read about history I see tons of this in names of European royalty - there are a ton of King Henry's, King Phillip, etc.

Tony Sirico, who played Peter Paul "Paulie Walnuts" on *The Sopranos* used "Junior" as a nickname when he was involved in street crime. Sirico went into acting after serving prison time. As others have mentioned, people in general (and mobsters in particular) can have colorful nicknames. They might also keep nicknames even when the nickname is no longer accurate--"Junior" is still "Junior" when he is old, "Big Pussy" is still "Big Pussy" even though he's no longer in any shape to be a cat burglar, etc.

When a baby is given the exact name as his father, people use the word Senior after the father’s name to distinguish him from the son, and the son uses the word Junior. People may continue to call them Junior even after the father’s name passes away. I had an uncle that we called Junior for this reason as well.

"call" not "called"

You got a lot of good answers! I just wanted to add on some other common namesake nicknames you might see in American media:  1. J.R. - this comes from sounding out the two letters of the suffix Jr.   2. Junebug - this one’s really common in Appalachia, maybe also in the South, it’s just a play on the word “Junior”. 3. Sonny - used to differentiate a son who has the same name as his dad, diminutive of the word “son”.   4. Chip - this one’s not used much anymore, but it’s a play on the phrase “chip off the old block” used to describe a kid who resembles their parent.   5. Bud or Buddy - this one comes from the word “bud” used to describe new growth on a tree branch. 6. Trey - common nickname for the third in line (so if James Smith had a son James Smith Jr., then his grandson James Smith III might be called Trey). From “tres”, the Latin word for three.   7. Ivey - James Smith IV might be nicknamed Ivey, which comes from sounding out the letters that make up the Roman numeral four.   8. Quint or Quincy - fifth in line, short for “quintus,” the Latin word for fifth.  9. Bronze - this one isn’t common or traditional, but KC Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ son Patrick III is called Bronze because it’s the medal traditionally awarded for third place. 

the other responses explained it very well but here's a [Soprano family tree](https://images.app.goo.gl/QMSZpo1pYacfxmC96) on the left as a helpful visual