Julia
Feminine
Julia is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 476,250 girls against 1,743 boys since 1880. See Julia as a boy name
The woman who taught America to cook French food spent the war in intelligence. She worked for the American wartime spy service, filing and then handling classified documents in Ceylon and China, and among the projects she is credited with is helping develop a shark repellent for the undersides of explosive devices meant for submarines.
How old is the name Julia?
Julia was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Julia alive today was born around 1969, making them about 56 years old. About 317,000 people named Julia are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Julia most popular?
Julia peaked in 1880, reaching #26 nationally. Today it ranks #131, 105 places below that high. See the whole 1880 chart.
Where it comes from
From Iulia to Julia
The story of Julia
Roman women did not have first names in the way that men did. A daughter took the feminine of her father's clan name and that was essentially it, so every daughter of a Julius was Julia and sisters were distinguished by an added elder or younger, or in larger families by a number — a third and a fourth daughter could be called Tertia and Quarta with no further ceremony. That is a genuinely different way of thinking about identity: a woman's name told you which family she belonged to and nothing at all about her.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The Roman family name behind it has no established meaning. The family's own claim about its descent is discussed elsewhere and is a claim rather than an etymology.
Cultural footprint
Julia Roberts (b. 1967) — Pretty Woman herself, Oscar winner for Erin Brockovich
Julia Child (b. 1912) — Brought French cooking to American kitchens
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (b. 1961) — Seinfeld's Elaine, with a record shelf of Emmys
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
How the name formed
- Iulia
- Julia
Related forms: Giulia · Julia · Julia · Julia
Pronouncing Julia
JOO-lee-uh
Three syllables with the stress at the front. Most European languages say it almost identically, which makes the name unusually stable.
Nicknames for Julia
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 20018,838 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #26reached in 1880
- Change vs 2022
- −14.7%2,172 in 2025, from 2,545
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Julia in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Giulia in Italian — same name
- Julia in Spanish — same name
- Julia in German — same name
- Julia in Polish — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York. INSEE rounds every published count to the nearest five for statistical confidentiality; the ranks are calculated from the exact figures. International figures from INSEE, Statistics Canada. Sources
Julias among us
people named Julia are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 740 born in 2025 was named Julia
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Julia has held the top-100 across 10 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Julia is headed
Julia should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Julia beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Julia in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It is recognized across Europe with essentially no change of spelling.
- It has been in continuous use for as long as records exist anywhere.
- Jules sits inside it as a short form with a completely different register.
- It is common enough that a child may not be the only one nearby.
- No meaning can be given, because the Roman root has none that survives.
- The record holds a few boys as well, and the boy is much the smaller side.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Julia to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Julia? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Julia
Feminine · #131 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Julias are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 317,000 people named Julia are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Julia in 2025?
- Julia ranks #131 among US girl names in 2025, with 2,172 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Julia?
- About 1 in every 740 US girls born in 2025 was named Julia — 2,172 in all.
- Will my child share the name Julia with classmates?
- Julia will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Julia
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Alina#130 · Amira#132 · Charlie#133 · Serenity#129 · Eva#134 · Ariana#128 · Savannah#135 · Valerie#127
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Julia? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Julia and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Or jump into a head-to-head
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration; international figures from national statistics agencies. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle