| Julia | Luna | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Youthful | Moon |
| Origin | Latin | latin |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | JOO-lee-uh | LOO-nah |
| Syllables | 3 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 1880 |
| Peak year | 2001 (8,838) | 2022 (8,977) |
| In 2025 | 2,172 | 6,076 |
| Trend | Declining | Rising |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Julia | Luna |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 14,329 | 46,161 |
| 2010s | 35,909 | 34,179 |
| 2000s | 70,880 | 4,737 |
| 1990s | 59,954 | 552 |
| 1980s | 33,354 | 115 |
| 1970s | 23,414 | 67 |
| 1960s | 34,179 | 29 |
| 1950s | 32,457 | 44 |
| 1940s | 27,891 | 91 |
| 1930s | 24,938 | 173 |
| 1920s | 40,331 | 414 |
| 1910s | 39,259 | 409 |
| 1900s | 16,107 | 298 |
| 1890s | 13,448 | 278 |
| 1880s | 9,800 | 168 |
Julia is the feminine of the Roman family name Julius, of uncertain origin, sometimes linked to “youthful” or to Jove. It appears in the New Testament and in Shakespeare.
Luna is the Latin word for 'moon' and the name of the Roman goddess who personified it, counterpart to the Greek Selene. The meaning is literal and well established.
Luna is more popular than Julia today: about 6,076 US babies were given the name Luna in 2025, compared with 2,172 named Julia.
Julia means Youthful (Latin origin), while Luna means Moon (latin origin).
In US records, Julia first appears in 1880 and Luna in 1880, so Julia has the longer recorded history.