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Julia

Gender
Girl
Say it
JOO-lee-a
Origin
Latin
UK rank, 2025
#229 for girls
US rank, 2025
#131 for girls

Julia is a girls' name of Latin origin, meaning “feminine of Julius; perhaps youthful”. In 2025 it ranked 229th for girls in the UK (230 babies) and 131st for girls in the US (2,172 babies).

What does Julia mean?

Latin: feminine of the Roman family name Julius

“feminine of Julius; perhaps youthful”

Borne by Julia, daughter of Emperor Augustus, and by a heroine of Shakespeare's The Two Gentlemen of Verona.

More on Wiktionary.

Is Julia a girl's or a boy's name?

Julia is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 230 girls in the UK and 2,172 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.

How popular is Julia in the UK?

Rank in 2025
229th among girls
Babies in 2025
230 about 1 in 1,200 girls
Five-year trend
Falling down 49% in five years
Same name in a class
1.2% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 230 girls in the UK were named Julia, making it the 229th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 128th. Its busiest year was 2010, with 909 girls.

It has been given to fewer girls each year for the last 10 years. 2025 had fewer girls named Julia than any year since 2004.

Half of all the girls named Julia in the UK since 1996 were born between 2008 and 2017, the years shaded on the chart below.

In 2025, 283 girls in the UK were given Julia or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #210, up from #229 for this spelling alone.

Among girls in 2025, it was 244th in England and Wales, 154th in Scotland and 146th in Northern Ireland.

In the England and Wales top 100 for girls, which the ONS has published every ten years since 1904: 1944 (#70), 1954 (#55), 1964 (#57), 1974 (#64) and 2014 (#97).

1996Busiest: 909 in 20102025
Julia in the UK, year by year
YearGirlsRank
2025230#229
2024243#214
2023299#188
2022304#185
2021404#145
2020429#128
2019513#112
2018558#104
2017644#93
2016657#95
2015728#89
2014691#93
2013773#80
2012866#78
2011893#74
2010909#80
2009860#82
2008822#85
2007681#91
2006399#154
2005254#212
2004191#260
2003175#272
2002132#309
2001181#255
2000171#263
1999207#232
1998216#226
1997200#230
1996218#209

How popular is Julia in the US?

Rank in 2025
131st among girls
Babies in 2025
2,172 about 1 in 740 girls
Five-year trend
Steady down 18% in five years
Same name in a class
1.9% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 2,172 girls in the US were named Julia, making it the 131st most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 108th. Its busiest year was 2001, with 8,838 girls.

2025 had fewer girls named Julia than any year since 1977.

Half of all the girls named Julia in the US since 1880 were born between 1930 and 2000, the years shaded on the chart below.

In 2025, 2,375 girls in the US were given Julia or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #149.

1880Busiest: 8,838 in 20012025
Julia in the US, year by year
YearGirlsRank
20252,172#131
20242,372#116
20232,299#121
20222,545#111
20212,433#114
20202,508#108
20192,787#99
20183,010#93
20173,125#93
20163,344#88
20153,375#89
20143,605#86
20133,754#75
20123,882#65
20114,350#58
20104,677#55
20094,996#50
20085,620#41
20076,133#34
20066,884#31
20057,089#31
20047,149#32
20037,437#33
20027,965#33
20018,838#27
20008,769#29
19998,753#30
19988,328#32
19977,341#37
19966,314#48
19955,411#62
19944,844#72
19934,663#72
19925,021#70
19915,365#67
19903,914#83
19893,370#96
19883,359#88
19873,331#86
19863,109#88
19853,206#85
19843,359#87
19833,381#85
19823,502#84
19813,668#88
19803,069#98
19792,568#122
19782,593#112
19772,060#143
19761,914#141
19752,001#137
19742,068#136
19732,089#136
19722,334#131
19712,609#130
19703,178#121
19693,712#100
19682,990#113
19672,775#123
19663,046#117
19653,102#123
19643,541#117
19633,569#122
19623,752#120
19613,902#116
19603,790#122
19593,940#116
19583,835#119
19573,689#122
19563,319#131
19553,287#131
19543,157#127
19532,974#124
19522,781#131
19512,748#127
19502,727#119
19492,922#112
19482,775#118
19472,953#116
19462,797#114
19452,328#115
19442,685#102
19432,972#95
19422,906#95
19412,844#88
19402,709#91
19392,635#91
19382,479#107
19372,284#112
19362,278#105
19352,341#102
19342,357#105
19332,403#97
19322,657#92
19312,624#91
19302,880#90
19292,950#88
19283,206#80
19273,586#76
19263,688#75
19254,047#65
19244,289#62
19234,323#62
19224,616#60
19214,737#58
19204,889#55
19194,950#48
19185,268#48
19175,078#47
19165,066#46
19154,831#44
19143,814#42
19133,195#42
19122,825#44
19112,158#44
19102,074#49
19091,931#45
19081,749#50
19071,680#49
19061,603#48
19051,642#47
19041,426#49
19031,447#48
19021,501#46
19011,362#46
19001,766#46
18991,297#47
18981,462#45
18971,380#45
18961,407#44
18951,380#45
18941,320#45
18931,367#40
18921,360#41
18911,200#43
18901,275#40
18891,201#40
18881,292#38
18871,043#39
18861,061#36
18851,062#32
1884935#37
1883875#34
1882811#35
1881737#30
1880783#26

Nicknames for Julia

Names like Julia

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Maria, Lucia, Rosa, Lola, Sophia, Cecilia, Aurelia, Beatrice, Alma, Matilda, Victoria, Eliza

Other spellings of Julia

Giulia

Names related to Julia

Julie, Jalia, Juli, Juliah, Juleah, Juliyah, Juliya, Julya

More Latin names

Oliver, Olivia, Leo, Roman, Aurora, Emily, Florence, Mabel, Luna, Nora, Rosie, Emilia, Max, Nova, Lucy, Julian

Every Latin name

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.

To cite this page: Nameling, “Julia: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/julia, updated 20 October 2026.