Head to head · Girls' names
Faith vs Juliana
#254 vs #256 in 2025 · both stepping back from its peak
Faith is a whisker ahead (#254 vs #256 in 2025) and both are stepping back from its peak. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Faith leads 5 measures of 6; Juliana leads 0.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Faith #766, Juliana #901 — Faith higher
- 1890s: Faith #636, Juliana #1148 — Faith higher
- 1900s: Faith #671, Juliana #1118 — Faith higher
- 1910s: Faith #593, Juliana #961 — Faith higher
- 1920s: Faith #479, Juliana #953 — Faith higher
- 1930s: Faith #360, Juliana #937 — Faith higher
- 1940s: Faith #340, Juliana #820 — Faith higher
- 1950s: Faith #330, Juliana #768 — Faith higher
- 1960s: Faith #357, Juliana #730 — Faith higher
- 1970s: Faith #356, Juliana #846 — Faith higher
- 1980s: Faith #359, Juliana #536 — Faith higher
- 1990s: Faith #189, Juliana #367 — Faith higher
- 2000s: Faith #62, Juliana #170 — Faith higher
- 2010s: Faith #94, Juliana #155 — Faith higher
- 2020s: Faith #204, Juliana #229 — Faith higher
Faith stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Faith | Juliana |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #766 | #901 |
| 1890s | #636 | #1148 |
| 1900s | #671 | #1118 |
| 1910s | #593 | #961 |
| 1920s | #479 | #953 |
| 1930s | #360 | #937 |
| 1940s | #340 | #820 |
| 1950s | #330 | #768 |
| 1960s | #357 | #730 |
| 1970s | #356 | #846 |
| 1980s | #359 | #536 |
| 1990s | #189 | #367 |
| 2000s | #62 | #170 |
| 2010s | #94 | #155 |
| 2020s | #204 | #229 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Faith
faith, trust, belief
From Latin fides, 'trust', by way of Old French and Middle English.
Fides → Foy → feith → Faith
How it traveled
The word came into English from Old French feid, itself from Latin fides, 'trust'. In Roman religion Fides was the personified virtue of good faith, and the same root produced the name of Saint Faith — Sainte Foy — a martyr of Agen honored at the abbey of Conques, a major stop on the medieval pilgrim roads.
Juliana
Feminine form of Julianus, 'of the family of Julius'
That Juliana comes from the Roman family name Julius is not in doubt. What Julius itself meant is: one long-standing reading connects it to Greek ioulos, 'downy-bearded' or 'youthful', another ties the family name to Jupiter/Jove. Baby-name books often print 'youthful' as settled; it is really the better-liked of two guesses.
Iulius → Iulianus → Iuliana → Juliana → Gillian
How it traveled
Iulius was one of the great Roman family names; Iulianus was formed from it, and Iuliana was its feminine. The name spread through the early church with Saint Juliana of Nicomedia, an early-fourth-century martyr whose cult reached far into western Europe, and by the Middle Ages Juliana was common enough in England to wear down into Gillian and Jill.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Faith
FAYTH
One syllable, exactly as the English word. The same across American and British English, and it survives being said quickly.
- Faye — Informal short form, though it also stands alone as a given name in its own right.
- Faithy — Affectionate family form, mostly used with young children.
- Fifi — Playful household nickname; rare, and almost never used outside the family.
Juliana
joo-lee-AH-na
English speakers also say joo-lee-AN-a, with a flat middle vowel, and both are accepted. In Spanish and Portuguese the initial J takes a throatier sound: hoo-lee-AH-na.
- Julia — The most common short form, and a fully established given name in its own right.
- Julie — Long used as an independent name too, and strongly represented among older generations.
- Jules — Informal and unisex; also a standalone name for men in French.
- Ana — Drawn from the second half; standard in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking families, and a given name on its own.
- Also Juju, Lia.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Faith if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsFaith is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesFaith is 1 syllable to Juliana's 4
- a long American recordFaith was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that feels very nowFaith is stepping back from its peak
Choose Juliana if you want…
- a name with more sound in itJuliana runs 4 syllables, Faith 1
- plenty of nickname options6 recorded short forms — Julia, Julie and Jules
- a newer arrivalJuliana entered the US charts in 1881
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 40% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 75% for Faith
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Faith
Strengths
- Spelling and pronunciation follow each other perfectly — anyone who hears it can write it, and anyone who reads it can say it.
- In continuous English use since the Reformation era, so it has never needed a revival to sound normal.
- The same Latin root gives Fe in Spanish and Portuguese, widely used in Spain, Latin America and the Philippines.
To consider
- It is also a common English word, and in most American contexts a religious one. Some people will read it as a statement about the family's beliefs, which may or may not be what you want.
- Very short, with no long formal version to grow into and no real nickname to retreat to — a Faith is Faith at three and at fifty.
- Its bearers cluster heavily in one young-adult generation, so among adults it can read as belonging to a particular cohort, even while it is uncommon in classrooms now.
Juliana
Strengths
- Spelled identically in Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch, so it crosses borders without being reissued in a new form.
- Comes with several ready-made short forms — Julia, Julie, Jules, Ana — each of which also works as a full name.
- An unbroken record from Roman times through the medieval church to the present, with no gap needing explanation.
To consider
- The Juli- family is crowded: Julia, Julie, Juliet, Julianna, Julianne and Juliane all sit close by, and Juliana will be misheard or respelled as one of them fairly often.
- Two pronunciations circulate in English — the AH middle and the flatter AN middle — so expect to correct people, or to accept both.
- Because the built-in short forms are so strong, a Juliana may spend much of her life being called Julia or Julie. That is easy to live with, but worth deciding how you feel about it now.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Faith
75%chance Faith feels dated by 2040
Faith is coming down from a big peak (#48 in 2002). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
Juliana
40%chance Juliana feels dated by 2040
Juliana sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Faith and Juliana in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Faith and Juliana?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Beloved classics quietly disappearing
- Virtue names, from Grace to Justice
- One-syllable names: said in a single beat
- Names that begin and end with the same letter
- all guides
Where Faith and Juliana each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Faith or Juliana — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Faith or Juliana?
- Faith, in 2025: Faith ranked #254 with 1,212 babies; Juliana ranked #256 with 1,203 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Faith or Juliana?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Faith moved down 120 places; Juliana moved down 67 places.
- Which is the older name, Faith or Juliana?
- Faith was already in use when US records began in 1880; Juliana entered the US charts in 1881. On the American record, Faith is the older name.
- How many people are named Faith and Juliana?
- About 137,000 people named Faith are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 64,500 people named Juliana are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Faiths or Julianas in the classroom?
- Faith will almost certainly be the only one in school. Juliana will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Faith, Juliana and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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