Girl · Latin
Julia
Say it: JOO-lee-uh
Meaning
Latin, feminine of Julius, a Roman family name of uncertain origin; the meaning 'youthful' found on name lists is a guess, not an established etymology.
Uncertainseveral explanations, none settled.
Revived in Renaissance Italy and widespread across Europe since the 18th century.
Its wave through time
Timeless: in steady use for over a century
In the United States
- 466,082 babies given this name since 1880
- At its height in 1885, about 1 in 125 girls
- 2,491 babies in 2020
Through the ages
- The Biblical WorldAbout 1200 BC to AD 100
- Ancient Rome750 BC to AD 476
- The Early Middle Ages400 to 800
- The Renaissance1400 to 1600
- The Age of Revolutions1750 to 1837
- Victorian and Belle Époque1837 to 1914
- The Modern Age1880 to today
Used by
LatinEarly ChristianEnglishFrenchSpanishItalianPortugueseGermanPolishRussianAmerican
The family of the name
Other spellings: Julie, Iulia
| French | Julie |
|---|---|
| Spanish | Julia |
| Italian | Giulia |
| Portuguese | Júlia |
| German | Julia |
| Polish | Julia |
| Russian | Yuliya |
| Hungarian | Júlia |
Famous bearers
- Julia, a Christian greeted by Paul in Romans 16
- Julia Child, American cook
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- Roman literature and history (Livy, Cicero, Tacitus and others)
- The Hebrew Bible and the New Testament
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.