boy's name
Julius
JOO-lee-us
- Origin Latin
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 87,644
the United States
#424
2025 births
Julius means downy-bearded, and the family claimed descent from Venus — the Julii traced themselves to Iulus, son of Aeneas, which is the genealogy Virgil wrote the Aeneid to dignify. It holds 86,478 lifetime births in our records.
- Julius is a name of Latin origin.
- Peaked in 1918, when 1,422 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 4,368 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Julius over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 1,610 |
| 1890s | 1,717 |
| 1900s | 2,038 |
| 1910s | 10,243 |
| 1920s | 11,066 |
| 1930s | 6,167 |
| 1940s | 5,602 |
| 1950s | 5,392 |
| 1960s | 4,183 |
| 1970s | 3,806 |
| 1980s | 5,204 |
| 1990s | 4,522 |
| 2000s | 8,190 |
| 2010s | 9,945 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 5,353 |
What Julius means
Julius means downy-bearded, or devoted to Jove. The Roman family name has two standard readings and neither is fully established, though the beard sense is the older proposal.
Where Julius comes from
Julius is a Roman gens name, read either as downy-bearded, from a word for the first growth of facial hair, or as devoted to Jove. The Julii claimed descent from Iulus, son of Aeneas and grandson of Venus, and Virgil's Aeneid exists partly to make that lineage respectable for Augustus. Caesar's name gives us July, the Julian calendar, the Kaiser and the Tsar — one family name that became a title in two languages.
Julius in use
Julius peaked in the United States in 1918, when 1,422 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It now ranks 424th in the United States on 759 births, 1000th in England and Wales on 34 and 3046th in France, across 87,644 lifetime births in four of the seven markets we track. Stable more than a century past its peak is a strong reading.
How popular is Julius?
In 2025, Julius was given to 759 babies in the United States, ranking #424 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Julius is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Julius
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Julius also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Julius over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Julius
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Julius in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Julius
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Julius — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Julius
What does the name Julius mean?
Downy-bearded, or devoted to Jove. Neither reading is fully established.
Is July named after Julius Caesar?
Yes, and the Julian calendar with it. His name also became Kaiser in German and Tsar in Russian.
Did the Julii claim descent from a goddess?
From Venus, through Iulus son of Aeneas — the lineage Virgil's Aeneid was written to dignify.
How popular is Julius?
424th in the United States, and our data marks it stable.
Is Julius a girl's or a boy's name?
Julius is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Julius?
Julius has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Julius?
Julius is usually shortened to Jules.
Is Julius a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Julius currently ranks #424 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.