Julian vs Julius

notthecheat · August 2013

My husband and I can't agree- he wants Julian and I want Julius. We are going to call him Jude either way. I was afraid Julian might sound too close to a girl name. What do you think? Thank you!

notthecheat · August 2013

Also my sister's name is Julianna, which we use, but call her Julie more often

notthecheat · August 2013

Jude doesn't flow as well with our last name, we want to be able to call him both/either Jude and Julian/ Julius

+ASH+ · August 2013

I love Julian, but would never use it because the pronunciation is so similar to Julianne. It's a guilty pleasure name for me. Julius is nice, but I'm of the mind that if neither parent can agree, then it's time to scrap both names and start over.

jgengo0 · August 2013

Not a fan of Julius. I immediately think of planet if the apes.

Definitely Julian

cnomack · August 2013

I prefer Julian, also.

NerdyLucy · August 2013

I prefer Julian (and Jude) over Julius.

TNgoldengirl · August 2013

I think Orange Julius..the smoothie place. Julian is good!

brooksidebride · August 2013

Both nice, but if I have to choose, I like Julian more.

Why nn Jude? I've never heard that as a nn. The only Julian/Jude reference I know is that the song Hey Jude is about Julian Lennon. But I don't think his nn was Jude; I think Paul was just kind of disguising it... Not wanting it to be overly obvious the song was about John's son. I could be wrong though!

ETA: Julian is kind of feminine but that doesn't bother me. However, I wouldn't name my son Julius or Julian if my sister, his aunt, was named Julianna/Julia. Too close. Unless he was named to honor her I guess.

KNSATX · August 2013

Definitely Julian. & if Jude doesn't work with your last name, it still won't work whether it's his official name or not.

Scarlett&Gatsby · August 2013

Joy2611 said:

I really like Julius.

But, I think Jude is a strange nickname for either choice.

This. Also, I'm not sure what would make either name sound "more feminine" than the other. First off, they're both boys' names that have always been boys' names. Second, they both contain the arguably "girly" /joo-lee/ sound.

dreemkin84 · August 2013

I like Julius. It reminds me of one of my favorite childhood books! I like it better than Julian (which also looks kind of feminine to me even though I know it's a legit male name).

spicysurro · August 2013

TNgoldengirl said:

I think Orange Julius..the smoothie place. Julian is good!

^That exactly....I would just name him Jude if that is what you are going to call him. I love the name

diamondduck13 · August 2013

If you want to call him Jude, then name him Jude! Although, I know you said it doesn't work with your last name. But, when a NN becomes pervasively used, it gets said with the LN frequently (that's the case for my DH and ever Michael called "Mike" that I know, etc.). If you really don't like the way Jude sounds with your LN, you may want to consider alternative NN or name options.

I like Julian better than Julius, but I've known so many more girls named Julie and Julia than I have known boys named Julian or Julius, that I must admit the "Jul" start of the name makes me think feminine, no matter how firmly established Julian and Julius are as male names.

Ladybug32110 · August 2013

Like orange Julius?? If you want Jude, I'd go with Jude or Judah..

SmileyJay · August 2013

I like Julian more than Julius. Julius is just too Julius Cesar to me, sorry. Julian reminds me of the adorable little boy on the movie "Big Daddy". He was so cute!!

I never considered Jude as a nickname for either of these names... I guess they all start with the first two letters but there is no D in either name... I think Jude would be a more obvious nn for Judah.

I love the name Jude as a stand alone name. So many great associations... Jude Law, the Beatles song "Hey Jude", etc. It is a name all in itself and not nicknamey at all. Just name him Jude if you intend to call him that. It is a great name!

notthecheat · August 2013

brooksidebride said:

Why nn Jude? I've never heard that as a nn. The only Julian/Jude reference I know is that the song Hey Jude is about Julian Lennon. But I don't think his nn was Jude; I think Paul was just kind of disguising it... Not wanting it to be overly obvious the song was about John's son. I could be wrong though.

In the song, they originally sang "Hey Jules" because that was his actual nn. It was changed to Jude in the song I think to flow better.

notthecheat · August 2013

Thanks everyone for your input!

zg49 · August 2013

I prefer Julian to Julius but I also love Jude on its own. My first thought with Julian is that you're naming him after your sister since Julianna is pretty close to Julian. I don't think Julian sounds female though - it is masculine. Hope that helps!

capulet · August 2013

I prefer Julian to Julius, but I don't think Jude is a natural NN for either of them. I like the PPs' suggestion of Judah. I also think that they are both pretty close to Julianna if you aren't trying to honor your sister. I have thought about adding Julian to our boy list, but my name is Juliet (NN Julie among family) and I don't want it to look like I'd be naming my son after myself.

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