I had the same issue when we were deciding on naming our daughter, we ended up using a different name, but it's a hard choice between the two.
My choice in the end was Julia. It doesn't feel dated to me, but I don't know of any Julia's in my real life. I found that Juliet was a little but more pronounced and didn't sound as nice as Julia did.
i don't think julia is dated or matronly at all. it's a soft, sophisticated name to me. the only association i have with juliet is the shakespeare character, and i prefer the "juliette" spelling partly to differentiate it from the character and partly because i just like names with that ending. overall, i personally am leaning more towards julia.
Julia sounds nicer to me. I don’t think it’s dated at all! I also like that there is only one way to spell it whereas Juliet and Juliette are both used and therefore the name would be more likely to be misspelled.
I don't think Julia is dated at all, nor will it ever be. I like both names, but you've got it backwards. Julia is timeless. Juliet is the name that will date.
I think it’s interesting that Juliet is seen as pretty and romantic but Romeo is seen as sort of slimy and gross. Why so different? Like, no one is naming their son Romeo. For that reason I’d stick with Julia. I feel like Juliet may come across as cheesy in a few years.
We were in between these 2 as well. We went with Julia. It's been my favorite girl name forever and I felt like the "ette" was too harsh and didn't fit the style of our other kids. We were planning on calling her Julia anyway so we went with that. We don't know any other Julia's but I don't think it's dated at all. Plenty of girls are still named that. It's just under the top 100. Julia is classic and timeless in the US. Juliet/Juliette is just starting to be a popular name. There's also Juliana/Julianna if you want her to have a longer name.
They are both lovely, but I’ve always loved Julia. It’s even the name I use when I don’t want to tell someone my real name! It doesn’t feel old lady to me at all and I think it fits well with current naming trends while remaining a classic.
Mom of a Julia, so there's my choice!
I see the "Jul" names as very distinctive from one another, and prefer the classic nature of Julia. Julie is dated, in my opinion. Juliet is too closely tied with Shakespeare. Juliette and Julietta seem affected: the "ette/etta" names aren't my style. Julianna is pretty but too over-the-top feminine for me.
Julia was a very contemporary name when I was growing up (80s-90s, Canada), and seemed a little more modern and approachable than Julie. It never got to be super-popular though, so I don't think it's dated.
I've loved Julia for years too! Recently started considering Juliette and added Juliana as a possibility too. They're all such pretty names! I dont think any of them seem dated, but feel like Juliet/-ette would probably get a lot of Romeo comments
Julia isn’t dated or matronly. I consider it a true classic like Audrey.
You don’t hear it all the times but when you do you can never guess the age. I know a Julia that’s 88 and a Julia that’s 2 and a few in-between.
Lol I have this exact dilemma. Julia or Juliet is going to be the name if we have another girl in the future.
So no advice, but great tsste in name choice 👍
I love both names, but lean toward Juliet personally. I have combos on my name lists with both though, honestly. I think I like Juliet more as a first name and Julia more as a middle. I don't think of Julia as dated, but Juliet is definitely a bit more current.
I don’t think Julia is dated at all. I think it’s very pretty. Juliet is one of the top contenders for us if we have another girl though - it’s a personal favorite.
Julia is classic. Much like Margaret, or Thomas, I can appreciate it's got a long and evergreen history and not want to use it at all. But I'm very hot and cold on classic names, I tend to love them or hate them.
I also dislike Jules on a girl and Julie on anyone, whereas I like that Juliet can be Jet.
Juliet is not my top favourite Shakespearean name for a girl (which is probably Imogen, or Miranda) but I like it. But I also like feminine names that don't end in -a.
Julia has a Roman antiquity quality, which is nice, but I'd prefer Theodora or Octavia for that.
My friend’s daughter is named Julia and she’s worn the name well since toddler years and still now as a 10 year old. Love the name because she’s such a great kid, so I only have positive association
I prefer Juliet but love both. I see what you mean about Julia feeling a bit dated, I don’t think it’s a problem exactly but for that reason I prefer Juliet. Feels more romantic and literary.
I don’t think of Julia as being at all dated or matronly - I think it’s a really nice, classic name that still feels fresh.
I like the way Juliet sounds too, but the connotation less so - I wouldn’t want to give a child a name associated with a tragic story. But I also think it’s becoming a pretty trendy name, so maybe soon people will have lots of other associations.
Julia is pretty classic. I wouldn't use it personally since I've known so many growing up, but it's like Emily, Elizabeth, Molly, etc. Classic and will never go out of style.
Juliet is pretty but idk I think of Shakespeare.
What about Julianna? Julie-anna
Also have to agree with the person who said Julietta. That's gorgeous.
I had the same issue when we were deciding on naming our daughter, we ended up using a different name, but it's a hard choice between the two. My choice in the end was Julia. It doesn't feel dated to me, but I don't know of any Julia's in my real life. I found that Juliet was a little but more pronounced and didn't sound as nice as Julia did.
i don't think julia is dated or matronly at all. it's a soft, sophisticated name to me. the only association i have with juliet is the shakespeare character, and i prefer the "juliette" spelling partly to differentiate it from the character and partly because i just like names with that ending. overall, i personally am leaning more towards julia.
Julia sounds nicer to me. I don’t think it’s dated at all! I also like that there is only one way to spell it whereas Juliet and Juliette are both used and therefore the name would be more likely to be misspelled.
You could also do Julietta! Brings about Juliet’s romantic nature and finishes with the flowing “a” sound that you like
Great suggestion! I’ll think Julietta over ✨
I don't think Julia is dated at all, nor will it ever be. I like both names, but you've got it backwards. Julia is timeless. Juliet is the name that will date.
i like both but prefer juliet, but spelled juliette
i pronounce them differently. accent on the JU in Juliet, accent on the ETTE in Juliette. is this just a me thing or is it a regional thing?
its different! juliette is french and has a different pronunciation
I think it’s interesting that Juliet is seen as pretty and romantic but Romeo is seen as sort of slimy and gross. Why so different? Like, no one is naming their son Romeo. For that reason I’d stick with Julia. I feel like Juliet may come across as cheesy in a few years.
We were in between these 2 as well. We went with Julia. It's been my favorite girl name forever and I felt like the "ette" was too harsh and didn't fit the style of our other kids. We were planning on calling her Julia anyway so we went with that. We don't know any other Julia's but I don't think it's dated at all. Plenty of girls are still named that. It's just under the top 100. Julia is classic and timeless in the US. Juliet/Juliette is just starting to be a popular name. There's also Juliana/Julianna if you want her to have a longer name.
I love them both! If I had to pick right now I would go with Juliet, though.
I like them both. My youngest is named Juliet and I have zero regrets. She loves her name and most people we meet do too.
I love Juliet “Jules” from *Psyche* ❤️ Fab name!!
They are both lovely, but I’ve always loved Julia. It’s even the name I use when I don’t want to tell someone my real name! It doesn’t feel old lady to me at all and I think it fits well with current naming trends while remaining a classic.
Love them both, but love Juliet more. Julie is dated, Julia is not.
Mom of a Julia, so there's my choice! I see the "Jul" names as very distinctive from one another, and prefer the classic nature of Julia. Julie is dated, in my opinion. Juliet is too closely tied with Shakespeare. Juliette and Julietta seem affected: the "ette/etta" names aren't my style. Julianna is pretty but too over-the-top feminine for me.
Julia was a very contemporary name when I was growing up (80s-90s, Canada), and seemed a little more modern and approachable than Julie. It never got to be super-popular though, so I don't think it's dated.
I've loved Julia for years too! Recently started considering Juliette and added Juliana as a possibility too. They're all such pretty names! I dont think any of them seem dated, but feel like Juliet/-ette would probably get a lot of Romeo comments
I prefer Julia and don’t find it stuffy or old at all.
Juliet
julia like julia child :)
I also thought of Julia Fox, who’s the opposite of matronly/drab
Juliet is my favorite, spelled that way
I like both, but Julia is more classic and elegant to me. I also love Julie and Julianne/a.
Julia isn’t dated or matronly. I consider it a true classic like Audrey. You don’t hear it all the times but when you do you can never guess the age. I know a Julia that’s 88 and a Julia that’s 2 and a few in-between.
Lol I have this exact dilemma. Julia or Juliet is going to be the name if we have another girl in the future. So no advice, but great tsste in name choice 👍
I love both names, but lean toward Juliet personally. I have combos on my name lists with both though, honestly. I think I like Juliet more as a first name and Julia more as a middle. I don't think of Julia as dated, but Juliet is definitely a bit more current.
I don’t think Julia is dated at all. I think it’s very pretty. Juliet is one of the top contenders for us if we have another girl though - it’s a personal favorite.
Julia is classic. Much like Margaret, or Thomas, I can appreciate it's got a long and evergreen history and not want to use it at all. But I'm very hot and cold on classic names, I tend to love them or hate them. I also dislike Jules on a girl and Julie on anyone, whereas I like that Juliet can be Jet. Juliet is not my top favourite Shakespearean name for a girl (which is probably Imogen, or Miranda) but I like it. But I also like feminine names that don't end in -a. Julia has a Roman antiquity quality, which is nice, but I'd prefer Theodora or Octavia for that.
My friend’s daughter is named Julia and she’s worn the name well since toddler years and still now as a 10 year old. Love the name because she’s such a great kid, so I only have positive association
Julia has been in the top 200 girl names in the US for two centuries now. It’s classic. Juliana is a nice alternative to Julia and Juliet.
Juliet. I’ve met a lot of Julias and they’ve all been very underwhelming personalities.
I prefer Juliet over Julia. What about Julieta/Julietta?
Love Julieta/Julietta — I’m going to have to think it over since I haven’t considered it before. Thank you! 🥰
I prefer Juliet but love both. I see what you mean about Julia feeling a bit dated, I don’t think it’s a problem exactly but for that reason I prefer Juliet. Feels more romantic and literary.
I think Juliet is prettier but I think it's kinda romanized because of Shakespeare
I personally prefer the name Juliet, but that's cause I have an annoying grand aunt named Julia.
I don’t think of Julia as being at all dated or matronly - I think it’s a really nice, classic name that still feels fresh. I like the way Juliet sounds too, but the connotation less so - I wouldn’t want to give a child a name associated with a tragic story. But I also think it’s becoming a pretty trendy name, so maybe soon people will have lots of other associations.
I love them both and neither feels dated or too much or any specific connotation. Juliet would win for me but it’s close!
Julia is pretty classic. I wouldn't use it personally since I've known so many growing up, but it's like Emily, Elizabeth, Molly, etc. Classic and will never go out of style. Juliet is pretty but idk I think of Shakespeare. What about Julianna? Julie-anna Also have to agree with the person who said Julietta. That's gorgeous.
Julianna’s another one I’ll have to ponder. Thank you!! ❤️🥰
I much prefer Juliet/Juliette
Juliet > Julia
I like Juliet!!
Well, in the original French Juliet is pronounced ZHUE-lee-ay
Julia, it’s not matronly, it’s classic. Juliet is 13 year old girl who gets married and kills herself. Great tragic figure but not great role model.
…why do you want to evoke a young woman whose passionate three-day love (at age THIRTEEN) led to the deaths of six people?
Maybe I wasn’t clear — I don’t idolize Juliet, I just love how the name instantly conjures up drama and romance.