Head to head · Boys' names
Julio vs Memphis
#641 vs #639 in 2025 · both stepping back from its peak
Memphis is a whisker ahead (#639 vs #641 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, Julio leads 3 measures of 6; Memphis leads 2.
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: Julio #917, Memphis — — Julio higher
- 1890s: Julio #1051, Memphis — — Julio higher
- 1900s: Julio #826, Memphis — — Julio higher
- 1910s: Julio #717, Memphis #3011 — Julio higher
- 1920s: Julio #540, Memphis #3607 — Julio higher
- 1930s: Julio #559, Memphis #3453 — Julio higher
- 1940s: Julio #565, Memphis #3255 — Julio higher
- 1950s: Julio #461, Memphis — — Julio higher
- 1960s: Julio #394, Memphis — — Julio higher
- 1970s: Julio #278, Memphis — — Julio higher
- 1980s: Julio #247, Memphis — — Julio higher
- 1990s: Julio #221, Memphis #9265 — Julio higher
- 2000s: Julio #263, Memphis #1409 — Julio higher
- 2010s: Julio #445, Memphis #612 — Julio higher
- 2020s: Julio #586, Memphis #502 — Memphis higher
Julio stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Memphis took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Julio | Memphis |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #917 | — |
| 1890s | #1051 | — |
| 1900s | #826 | — |
| 1910s | #717 | #3011 |
| 1920s | #540 | #3607 |
| 1930s | #559 | #3453 |
| 1940s | #565 | #3255 |
| 1950s | #461 | — |
| 1960s | #394 | — |
| 1970s | #278 | — |
| 1980s | #247 | — |
| 1990s | #221 | #9265 |
| 2000s | #263 | #1409 |
| 2010s | #445 | #612 |
| 2020s | #586 | #502 |
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
Julio
from the Roman family name Julius; meaning debated
Two serious readings compete for Julius. The Roman Julii themselves traced their name to Iulus, the son of Aeneas in Roman legend. Scholars have also connected it to the Greek ioulos, 'downy-bearded', hence youthful. Neither has won, and the name carries both.
Iulius → Julius → Julio
How it traveled
The name begins with the gens Iulia, one of the old patrician families of Rome, whose most famous member gave his name to the month of July — julio in Spanish. Latin Iulius passed into the Romance languages, and where Italian kept Giulio and French clipped it to Jules, Spanish and Portuguese arrived at Julio and Júlio.
Memphis
Enduring and beautiful
Memphis is the Greek rendering of Egyptian Men-nefer, "enduring and beautiful" — originally the name of the pyramid town of the pharaoh Pepi I, which came to stand for the whole city. The older Egyptian name for the city itself was Inebu-hedj, "white walls."
Men-nefer → Memphis (Greek) → Memphis, Tennessee → Memphis (given name)
How it traveled
The first Memphis stood at the head of the Nile delta and served as a capital of ancient Egypt; Greek writers turned its Egyptian name Men-nefer into Memphis, and that is the form the West inherited. In 1819 the founders of a new settlement on a bluff above the Mississippi took the name deliberately, matching one great river city to another.
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
Julio
HOO-lee-oh
In Spanish the J is a breathy H and the stress falls on the first syllable. English speakers who do not know the name often try JOO-lee-oh; both are heard in the United States, and families usually settle it early by saying it once, clearly.
- Julito — The standard Spanish diminutive, affectionate and used within families, often for a boy named after his father.
- Juli — A casual clipping among friends; also a standalone given name in Catalan.
- Jules — An English-language shortening borrowed from the French form; used informally rather than on documents.
Memphis
MEM-fis
Stress on the first syllable. One pronunciation only, and almost no American will need to be told it.
- Mem — The most natural clipping, used informally at home; not established as a standalone given name.
- Memphy — An affectionate family form, mostly used with small children.
- Phis — Occasionally used among friends; rare, and needs explaining the first time.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Julio if you want…
- a name with more sound in itJulio runs 3 syllables, Memphis 2
Choose Memphis if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsMemphis is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesMemphis is 2 syllables to Julio's 3
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
Julio
Strengths
- Spelled exactly as it sounds in Spanish, with no variant spellings competing for it.
- A documented line back to Latin, and close cousins in Italian, French, Portuguese and English — recognizable across most of the Western world.
- Familiar to nearly everyone without being crowded: a boy named Julio is unlikely to share it with a classmate.
To consider
- The J will be pronounced two ways depending on who is reading it. Outside Spanish-speaking settings, expect JOO-lee-oh from strangers and a lifetime of gentle corrections — manageable, but worth knowing in advance.
- In Spanish, julio is also the month of July, so the name is a common word as well as a name. Spanish speakers hear both at once and think nothing of it.
- It sits close to Julián, Julio César and Julius, and mix-ups among them are routine on forms and rosters.
Memphis
Strengths
- The spelling is already familiar to nearly everyone in the country, so it rarely needs repeating or correcting.
- One settled pronunciation, learned on sight, with no regional variation to negotiate.
- Given to both boys and girls in the US records — the same place name traveling two ways, not two different names.
To consider
- The association with Tennessee is immediate and total. Expect the question "Is your family from there?" for life, and expect the music — Elvis, Stax, blues — to come up too. Some families love that; it is worth knowing it comes with the name.
- Short forms are not fixed. Mem and Memphy exist but none has settled into common use, so a child who wants a shorter everyday name may have to invent one.
- Most Memphises on record are boys. A girl with the name will sometimes be read as male on paper — forms, rosters, first emails — which is easily corrected but happens more than once.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
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 Julio and Memphis 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 Julio and Memphis?
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 that carry both names
Every list here names both Julio and Memphis — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Julio or Memphis — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Julio or Memphis?
- Memphis, in 2025: Memphis ranked #639 with 437 babies; Julio ranked #641 with 436 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Julio or Memphis?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Julio moved down 99 places; Memphis moved down 184 places.
- Which is the older name, Julio or Memphis?
- Julio entered the US charts in 1888; Memphis entered the US charts in 1916. On the American record, Julio is the older name.
- How many people are named Julio and Memphis?
- About 57,000 people named Julio are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 10,000 people named Memphis are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Julios or Memphiss in the classroom?
- Julio will almost certainly be the only one in school. Memphis 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
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