US rank #116 Girls' name Peak 2001 474,054 births

Julia — #116 US girls' name

474,054 babies named Julia in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 2001. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s98001890s134481900s161071910s392591920s403311930s249371940s278901950s324561960s341811970s234191980s333551990s599512000s708772010s359032020s12140
#116
of 17,661 girls in use

More common than 99.3% of names given to girls today.

2000s
Peak decade

15% of everyone ever named Julia was born in this single decade.

2001
Single peak year

8,838 babies were named Julia in 2001 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Julia

The Social Security Administration has registered 474,054 babies named Julia between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a girl's name, Julia currently holds the #116 rank among girls for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 2001, when 8,838 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Julia performed strongest in the 2000s, accumulating 70,877 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Julia shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in California, which accounts for 38,498 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by New York and Pennsylvania. In total, SSA state-level files list Julia in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Julia in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 474,054 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Julia at a glance

Top 1,000 girls' name

Total births

474,054

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

2001

8,838 births that year

Strongest decade: 2000s

Current rank

#116

Among girls

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Julia popularity over time — girls

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880

Top 1,000 girls' name
Peak year (2001)
8,838
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
02,0004,0006,0008,00010,000 202420051986196719481929191018911880 783

Julia popularity over time — boys

1,744 total births recorded since 1882 (Julia as boys' name)

Unisex variant — 1,744 births
0204060 202019981983196819531938192319081882 5

Julia by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 2000s
Peak decade
2000s
70,877 births that decade — 15% of Julia's all-time total
1880s98001890s134481900s161071910s392591920s403311930s249371940s278901950s324561960s341811970s234191980s333551990s599512000s708772010s359032020s12140

Julia by state

Where Julia concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Julia
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 California
38,498 8.1%
#2 New York
38,378 8.1%
#3 Pennsylvania
29,324 6.2%
#4 Texas
28,983 6.1%
#5 Illinois
20,813 4.4%
#6 Ohio
19,488 4.1%
#7 New Jersey
17,083 3.6%
#8 Massachusetts
14,905 3.1%
California share of Julia's total US births 8.1%
Even split

38,498 of 474,054 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Julia appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Julia?
474,054 babies have been named Julia since 1880. It currently ranks #116 among girls. The peak year was 2001 with 8,838 births.
When was Julia most popular?
Julia was most popular in the 2000s decade with 70,877 total births. The single peak year was 2001.
Where is Julia most popular?
The top states for the name Julia are California (38,498 births), New York (38,378 births), Pennsylvania (29,324 births).
How long has the name Julia been used?
Julia has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Julia?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Julie, Juliana, Julianna, Juliette, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.

Keep exploring Julia

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Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.