Of Greek and Latin origin.
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.
Julius was also the name of a prominent Roman family.
A most common feminine form of Julius.
Saint Julia of Corsica, known as Saint Julia of Carthage was a martyr and saint and is one of the first recorded bearers of the name in the Christian world.
William Shakespeare used the name “Julia” in his play “The two gentlemen of Verona”.
It is a quite popular name in many places of the world, although it was rarely used until the Italian Renaissance.
Other forms of the name are Julie, Júlia, Jools, Jules, Giulia, Lia, Julita, Julek, Giuliana, Giulietta, Juliet, Juliette, Yulia.
Masculine forms of the name are Julius, Julio, Jules, Giuliano, Julek.
Julia is a popular name in the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Catalonia, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria.
Famous bearers are Julia Roberts, Julia Gillard, Julia Stiles, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Julia Ormond, Julia Mancuso, Julia Stegner, Julia Jones, Julia Alvarez.
Additional information concerning 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”.