Jilian
A feminine name of English origin meaning "youthful".
Name Census estimates that about 774 living Americans carry the first name Jilian. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jilian today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jilian births was 1982 (44 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jilian. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
774
~ 1 in 442,835 Americans
Peak year
1982
44 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2016 SSA rank
#17,416
Tracked since 1977
Popularity
Jilian: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jilian from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 296 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jilian by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Jilian during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jilians live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, Texas, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Jilian, while Ohio, New York, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 12 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jilian
The name Jilian is a variant of the name Julian, which has its origins in ancient Rome. It is derived from the Roman family name Julianus, which itself is derived from the name Julius. The name Julius was a prestigious name in ancient Rome, with its most famous bearer being Gaius Julius Caesar, the legendary Roman military leader and statesman who played a crucial role in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire.
The name Julian is believed to have been originally derived from the Latin word "ioulos," meaning "downy-bearded" or "youthful." It was a popular name among early Christians, as it was borne by several early saints and martyrs, including Saint Julian the Hospitaller, who lived in the 7th century.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Jilian can be found in the 12th century, when it was used as a variant spelling of Julian. During this period, the name was primarily associated with the nobility and upper classes in various parts of Europe.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Jilian. One of the most famous was Jilian of Cornillon, a 13th-century Flemish mystic and visionary who founded the Order of St. Augustine. Another notable bearer of the name was Jilian Byngham, an English clergyman and author who lived in the late 15th century and wrote several religious works.
In the realm of literature, the name Jilian has been used by several authors, including English playwright and poet John Lyly, who created the character Jilian in his play "Euphues and his England" (1580). The name was also used by American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne for a character in his short story "The Shaker Bridal" (1837).
Other notable individuals with the name Jilian include Jilian Ritchie, a Scottish actress and singer who was born in 1939, and Jilian Sayer, a British businesswoman and entrepreneur who founded a successful recruitment agency in the 1970s.
While the name Jilian is not as widely used today as some other variants of Julian, it has a rich history and has been borne by several fascinating individuals throughout the centuries, spanning the realms of religion, literature, and business.
People
Jilian + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jilian as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Jilian: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jilian?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 774 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jilian going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 442,835 US residents.
Is Jilian a common name?
We classify Jilian as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 803 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jilian most popular?
The single biggest year for Jilian was 1982, when 44 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jilian is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Jilian a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jilian in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.