Juliet
A feminine name of French origin meaning "youthful".
Name Census estimates that about 32,639 living Americans carry the first name Juliet. It sits at #283 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Juliet today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Juliet births was 2016 (1,402 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Juliet. 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
33K
~ 1 in 10,501 Americans
Peak year
2016
1,402 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2016 SSA rank
#283
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Juliet
Out of the 36,826 babies given the name Juliet since 1880, 100.0% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Juliet as a male name
- Ranked #13,178 in 2016
- 5 male births in 2016
- Peak: 2016 (5 births)
Juliet as a female name
- Ranked #283 in 2024
- 1,116 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2016 (1,397 births)
Popularity
Juliet: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Juliet from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 13,007 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Juliet remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Juliet 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 Juliet during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Juliets live
The SSA's state-level files cover 49 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Juliet, while North Dakota, West Virginia, South Dakota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 636 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Juliet
The name Juliet is derived from the French name Juliette, which ultimately traces its roots back to the Roman family name Julius. This name was derived from the ancient Roman word "ioulos," meaning "downy-bearded" or "youthful." The name gained widespread recognition through its association with the tragic heroine Juliet Capulet in William Shakespeare's famous play "Romeo and Juliet," written around 1595.
The name Juliet has a long and storied history, with its earliest recorded use dating back to the 13th century. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Juliet of Norwich, an English mystic and author who lived from 1343 to 1416. Her work "Revelations of Divine Love" is considered one of the earliest examples of written English prose by a woman.
Another notable Juliet in history was Juliet Duff Claremont, also known as Lady Capulet, who lived from 1671 to 1726. She was an English aristocrat and noblewoman who served as a Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Anne.
In the literary world, Juliet Prowse (1936-1996) was a renowned dancer, actress, and singer who starred in various films and television shows in the 1960s and 1970s. She was also a successful recording artist and is remembered for her appearances on popular TV shows like "The Ed Sullivan Show."
Juliet Mills (born 1941) is a British actress and author who has had a prolific career spanning over six decades. She is best known for her roles in films such as "Avanti!" and "Nanny and the Professor," as well as her appearances in numerous television shows.
Juliet Stevenson (born 1956) is a highly acclaimed British actress who has received numerous awards and nominations for her work on stage, film, and television. She is particularly renowned for her performances in productions of plays by William Shakespeare and has been a prominent figure in the British theater scene for several decades.
While the name Juliet has its origins in ancient Rome and gained widespread recognition through Shakespeare's famous play, it has transcended its literary roots and has been embraced by many cultures around the world. Its enduring popularity is a testament to its timeless beauty and romantic connotations.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Juliet
People
Juliet + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Juliet 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
Juliet: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Juliet?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 32,639 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Juliet 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 10,501 US residents.
Is Juliet a common name?
We classify Juliet as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 36,826 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Juliet most popular?
The single biggest year for Juliet was 2016, when 1,402 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Juliet is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Juliet a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Juliet 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.