Julian

English from Latin

"youthful or sky father"

Julian Origin and Meaning

The name Julian is a girl's name meaning "youthful or sky father".

Some may think that the girls have enough variations of the ancient Roman emperor's name Julius of their own – from Julia to Juliet to Julianne – without using the usually-male Julian too. But Julian actually has a long history of use as a unisex name, and was considerably more popular for girls than boys in Medieval England. A famous female bearer is Julian of Norwich, an important medieval mystic and theologian whose work Revelations of Divine Love is the first book in English known to have been written by a woman.

Julian was derived from Iulianus, which in turn came from Julius, a Roman family name. Its origin is shrouded in history, but possible roots include Latin iuvenis, meaning "youthfu"; Greek ioulos, meaning "downy-bearded"; or Jovis, a form of Jupiter, which means "sky father".

Popularity of the name Julian

• 735 Nameberry 2025

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