Jillian
Torn between Jillian and another name? Compare them side by side →
Meaning
medieval English form of Juliana, feminine of Julian, traditionally translated as 'youthful'
The story
Jillian is the medieval English form of Juliana, traditionally translated as youthful, the same root that gave English Gillian and plain Jill. It enters the American record in the 1940s, ambles along at low levels for four decades, then climbs through the 1980s and 1990s to its peak in the 2000s, a genuine late bloomer among classic-derived names. It has eased gently since. Jillian's quiet trick is that it reads as a modern three-syllable invention to ears that never met Gillian, while actually carrying centuries of continuous English use; it is Juliana filtered through Middle English mouths, which makes it one of the oldest new names of its era, and Jill still waits inside it as the no-nonsense short form whenever a bearer wants one.
Jillian across languages
One shared root links 13 names across 5 languages.
Shared root: the Roman family name Julius, whose origin is uncertain; proposed sources include Jupiter, the Roman god, and a Greek word for the first soft facial hair
The constellation
More branches
How popular is Jillian around the world?
In the United States, 1,357 babies were named Jillian between 2020 and 2025. In Canada, 34 girls named Jillian were born in 2024, the 835th most common name among girls that year.
Jillian is on the official records of the United States, Canada, Austria, England and Wales, Spain and Brazil.
United States
1 in 16,000
In the United States, 1,357 babies were named Jillian between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Jillian peaked in the 2000s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Canada
1 in 11,000
In Canada, 34 girls named Jillian were born in 2024, the 835th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Austria
1 in 76,000
In Austria, 1 girl named Jillian was born in 2025, ranked 1,875th among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
England and Wales
1 in 200,000
In England and Wales, 3 girls named Jillian were born in 2025, ranked 5,927th among girls that year.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Spain
1 in 920,000
In Spain, 49 residents are named Jillian, ranked 14,145th among women, with a mean age of 46.4 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Argentina
last on record 2019
Jillian is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 31 people in Brazil were named Jillian, ranked 92,291st, with a median age of 31.
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Ireland
last on record 2007
Jillian is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Mexico City City
last on record 2018
Jillian is not on the 2022 record for Mexico City, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
New South Wales
outside the top 100
Jillian is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
New Zealand
last on record 1987
Jillian is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Scotland
last on record 2002
Jillian is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
South Australia
last on record 2015
Jillian is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Not on the record in Puerto Rico and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Jillian
Most people given the name Jillian in the United States were born between 1980 and 2009. The Jillian you meet today is most often in her 20s or 30s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Jillian deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Jillian truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Jillian fits with your family’s names and surname.
Does Jillian fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Jillian to your family’s tree →