Julia
Meaning of Julia
Julia is the feminine form of Julius, an ancient Roman family name. Its meaning is uncertain. Some link it to a Greek word meaning downy-bearded, or youthful, and others to the god Jupiter. It is pronounced JOO-lee-uh in English and HOO-lee-ah in Spanish.
In ancient Rome, Julius Caesar and the emperor Augustus each had a daughter called Julia, and a Julia is greeted in Paul's Letter to the Romans. Shakespeare gave the name to a heroine of The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Famous namesakes include the chef Julia Child and the Oscar-winning actress Julia Roberts.
In the U.S., Julia's highest rank was 26th, in 1880. After dipping to 143rd in 1977, it climbed back, reaching a record 8,838 babies in 2001. By 2025 it had fallen to 131st, with 2,172 babies.
Pronunciation
Spanish
- Pronunced as HOO-lee-ah (/'xu.li.a/)
English
- Pronunced as JOO-lee-uh (/'dʒuːliə/)
Italian
- Pronunced as YOO-lia (/juˈlja/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
Notable People Named Julia
| Julia Roberts is an American actress, an Oscar and Golden Globe winner famed for her charismatic rom-com roles who later earned acclaim in dramas and thrillers and became one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood. |
| Julia Child was an American chef and author who brought French cuisine to American homes through Mastering the Art of French Cooking and her TV show The French Chef, which premiered in 1963. |
| Julia Morgan was a pioneering American architect and engineer who designed more than 700 California buildings, best known for her work on Hearst Castle in San Simeon. |
| Julia Alvarez is an acclaimed American New Formalist poet, novelist, and essayist whose books such as How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents and In the Time of the Butterflies earned international success and established her as a leading contemporary Latina writer. |
| Julia Butterfly Hill is an American environmental activist who lived for 738 days in a redwood named Luna to prevent its logging, secured its protection, and wrote the book The Legacy of Luna. |
| Julia Carin Michaels is an American singer and songwriter with six Grammy nominations, including Song of the Year and Best New Artist, and nominations from the MTV Video Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, and American Music Awards. |
| Julia Shammas Holter is an acclaimed Los Angeles based American singer songwriter, composer, and producer known for art pop and ambient albums including Tragedy, Ekstasis, Loud City Song, Have You in My Wilderness, In the Same Room, and Aviary. |
| Julia Ann Moore was an American poet known for notoriously bad verse, often compared to the Scottish poet William McGonagall. |
| Julia Anne Goldsworthy is a British Liberal Democrat who was MP for Falmouth and Camborne from 2005 to 2010, served as Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Communities and Local Government, narrowly lost the new Camborne and Redruth seat by 66 votes after boundary changes, and later worked as a special adviser. |
| Julia Castelló Farré is a Spanish Paralympic swimmer. |
| Julia Strudwick Tutwiler was an Alabama education and prison reform advocate who served as co principal of Livingston Female Academy, became the first woman president of Livingston Normal College, and was inducted into the Alabama Womens Hall of Fame in 1971. |
