Head to head · Girls' names
Juliana vs Kaylee
#256 vs #255 in 2025 · both stepping back from its peak
Kaylee is a whisker ahead (#255 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, Kaylee leads 4 measures of 6; Juliana leads 1.
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: Juliana #901, Kaylee — — Juliana higher
- 1890s: Juliana #1148, Kaylee — — Juliana higher
- 1900s: Juliana #1118, Kaylee — — Juliana higher
- 1910s: Juliana #961, Kaylee — — Juliana higher
- 1920s: Juliana #953, Kaylee — — Juliana higher
- 1930s: Juliana #937, Kaylee — — Juliana higher
- 1940s: Juliana #820, Kaylee #4691 — Juliana higher
- 1950s: Juliana #768, Kaylee #5301 — Juliana higher
- 1960s: Juliana #730, Kaylee #4719 — Juliana higher
- 1970s: Juliana #846, Kaylee #3809 — Juliana higher
- 1980s: Juliana #536, Kaylee #1159 — Juliana higher
- 1990s: Juliana #367, Kaylee #143 — Kaylee higher
- 2000s: Juliana #170, Kaylee #47 — Kaylee higher
- 2010s: Juliana #155, Kaylee #63 — Kaylee higher
- 2020s: Juliana #229, Kaylee #179 — Kaylee higher
Juliana stood higher in 11 of 15 decades; Kaylee has held the lead since the 1990s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Juliana | Kaylee |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #901 | — |
| 1890s | #1148 | — |
| 1900s | #1118 | — |
| 1910s | #961 | — |
| 1920s | #953 | — |
| 1930s | #937 | — |
| 1940s | #820 | #4691 |
| 1950s | #768 | #5301 |
| 1960s | #730 | #4719 |
| 1970s | #846 | #3809 |
| 1980s | #536 | #1159 |
| 1990s | #367 | #143 |
| 2000s | #170 | #47 |
| 2010s | #155 | #63 |
| 2020s | #229 | #179 |
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
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.
Kaylee
Not established
Two serious readings compete. The first treats it as a compound: Kay (a short form of Katherine) plus the -lee or -leigh ending borrowed from English surnames, which is how Marillion's Fish described inventing the spelling Kayleigh — from the names Kay and Leigh. The second reads it as an English respelling of Irish names and surnames in the Caol- family, where the element caol means slender, and which reach English as Keeley and Keelin. Neither reading has won, and the name is used widely by parents who hold to one, the other, or neither.
How it traveled
Kaylee is a modern English-language name, and unlike most entries in a book like this it has no ancient line behind it. Its parts are old — Kay has stood alone as a woman's name for well over a century, and -lee and -leigh come from English place-name surnames meaning a clearing or meadow — but the joining of them is recent.
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
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.
Kaylee
KAY-lee
Two syllables, stress on the first. Kaylee, Kayleigh and Kaylie are all said identically, which is why the spellings get confused with one another.
- Kay — The most-used short form, and a full given name in its own right, still well represented among older generations.
- Kay-Kay — Informal and mostly used within families and among children.
- Lee — Occasional, drawn from the second half; also a stand-alone name given to both boys and girls.
- Kaye — A spelling of the same short form, more often seen as a middle name.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Juliana if you want…
- a name with more sound in itJuliana runs 4 syllables, Kaylee 2
- plenty of nickname options6 recorded short forms — Julia, Julie and Jules
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 40% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 80% for Kaylee
Choose Kaylee if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsKaylee is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesKaylee is 2 syllables to Juliana's 4
- a name that feels very nowKaylee is stepping back from its peak
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
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.
Kaylee
Strengths
- Reads exactly as it sounds to any English speaker — no pronunciation coaching needed, at school or over the phone.
- Both halves work as names on their own: Kay has a long independent record, and Lee is used for boys and girls alike.
- In use across the United States, Britain, Ireland and the Netherlands, so it travels through English-speaking and Dutch-speaking countries without adjustment.
To consider
- The spelling will need repeating for life. Kayleigh, Kaylie, Kaleigh, Caylee and Kailey are all in circulation, and people who hear the name have no way of guessing which one you mean.
- Most people carrying this name today are teenagers and young adults, which gives it a fairly specific generational sound — closer to a young woman's name than a baby's, at least for now.
- No settled meaning to hand a curious child. What you can tell them is real and quite interesting: the name was assembled in living memory rather than inherited.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
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.
Kaylee
80%chance Kaylee feels dated by 2040
Kaylee is coming down from a big peak (#26 in 2009). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
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 Juliana and Kaylee 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 Juliana and Kaylee?
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.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap
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
- Four-syllable names that carry
- Latin American and Caribbean names
- Names ending in -ana
- Names ending in -na
- all guides
Where Juliana and Kaylee each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Juliana or Kaylee — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Juliana or Kaylee?
- Kaylee, in 2025: Kaylee ranked #255 with 1,205 babies; Juliana ranked #256 with 1,203 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Juliana or Kaylee?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Juliana moved down 67 places; Kaylee moved down 138 places.
- Which is the older name, Juliana or Kaylee?
- Juliana entered the US charts in 1881; Kaylee entered the US charts in 1943. On the American record, Juliana is the older name.
- How many people are named Juliana and Kaylee?
- About 64,500 people named Juliana are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 139,000 people named Kaylee are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Julianas or Kaylees in the classroom?
- Juliana will almost certainly be the only one in school. Kaylee 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 Juliana, Kaylee and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap