Names That Mean Youthful

One of the most romantic names, the lovely and stylish Juliet seems finally to have shaken off her limiting link to Romeo. In Shakespeare's play, it was Juliet who said "What's in a name?"

Julia was an ancient Roman imperial name given to females in the house of a Julius, as in Caesar. 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".

Juliette, pronounced with the emphasis on the last syllable, adds a little something extra to Juliet. In the past years it has been rising up the chart.

Wildly popular in the 1960s and '70s, Julie is no longer anywhere near as stylish as the name's longer forms. Try Juliet, Juliana, or even the more grownup Julia.

Long common in Europe, the elegant and regal Juliana, also spelled with two n's, has invaded these shores, in tandem with the more classic Julia. Together with Julian, the name derives 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".

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.

Probably due to its nursery rhyme association, Jill has the perpetual air of a rosy-cheeked tot -- even though it is one of the oldest names on the roster, a medieval variation on the Roman Julia. The pairing of Jack and Jill to connote a generic boy and girl goes back at least to the fifteenth century. But can knowing Jill's history keep it from sounding like a cute mid-twentieth century invention? There may be some possibility of Jill making it back up the hill.

Together with Julian, the name Juliana/Julianna derives 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".

Gillian is a name that was in common usage in Great Britain until the 1970s, when it dropped out of the Top 100 and is yet to return. Until recently, it had not crossed the Atlantic in significant numbers, except in the short form Jill.

This spelling of Jillian is now much more popular than the original, maybe because the G version invites pronunciation problems.

An Italian version of an English classic beginning to be adopted by cutting-edge American parents, including Entourage's Debi Mazar.

Italian names like Gianna, Giovanna, Ginevra, Giulia, and Giuliana are being used increasingly by trendy baby namers — whether they have Italian roots or not. The Gi standing in for the more conventional J at the beginning seems to automatically make a name more appealing to some, perhaps because it gets you to nickname Gigi.

This variation on the Julia theme has stayed in play due to the popularity of Julianne Moore, though it now sits at the bottom of the US Top 1000.

Yulisa is a spelling variation of the Latin American Julissa or Julisa. Yulisa clarifies the pronunciation of the name for English speakers.

An alternative international spelling of Julia.

Fine in France, but here it means vegetables sliced into thin strips.

Julissa is a Spanish version of Julia used mostly in Latin America. It peaked in the 1990s and early 2000s and now hovers near the bottom of the Top 1000.

A lovely and intriguing option among the girl names beginning with U.

An older name with a modern sensibility — Xiana derives from Xuliana, the Galician variation of Juliana.

This spelling makes Julia worldly and distinctive. It is popular in Romania and Moldova, and might also be considered the Hawaiian form too, though Kulia is often used instead.