Of Latin and Greek origin.
Jules is both a masculine and a feminine name.
Possibly from the Greek word “ίουλος”, pronounced ioulos, meaning the first beard of adolescent boys.
It is related to Jupiter, Roman god of the sky, king of the gods in ancient Roman religion.
Jules is the French form of the male name Julius. Julius was the name of a prominent Roman family.
It is also used as a diminutive form of the names Julia and Julian.
One of the first famous bearers of the name was French novelist and poet Jules Verne.
Verne’s adventure novels had a profound influence on the science fiction writers.
Some of his most popular books are “Journey to the Center of the Earth”, “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea”, “Around the World in Eighty Days”, “The Mysterious Island”.
Several of his novels have been adapted for the movies or the tv, from the very beginning of the film industry until recently.
Alternative forms of the masculine name are Jools, Julius, Julian, Giulio, Julio, Giuliano, Yuli.
Alternative forms of the feminine name are Julia, Julie, Juliette, Juliana, Giuliana, etc.
Famous male bearers are Jules Breton, Jules Dassin, Jules de Balincourt, Jules Bianchi, Jules Munshin, Jules Shear, Jules de Martino.
Famous female bearers are Jules Asner, Jules Leyser.
Jules is a popular name in Belgium and France.
Additional information about the Ancient Roman naming system:
According to the Roman naming rules, the basic elements of Roman names were three. A “praenomen”, a “nomen”, and a “cognomen”.
A “praenomen” was the first name, indicating the personal name.
A “nomen” was the second name, indicating the ‘gens’ to which the bearer of the name belonged to. Gens, meaning the group of families sharing a common “nomen”.
“Nomen” would stand as the group of loosely connected families claiming common ancestors. “Nomen” were always patrilinear, meaning from the father.
A “cognomen” was the third name and was something like the surname. Cognomina (plural of cognomen) were usually inherited. They were rarely given to the bearer by general consensus by the prominent members of the community.
There were several types of “cognomina”, such as geographical, adoptive, occupational, etc. In very rare cases the “cognomina” could be metronymic, meaning from the mother’s “nomen”.