Julianna

Julianna is a fanciful respelling of Juliana which itself is an elaborate Latinate feminized version of the male name Julius/Julian. The Latin Julius is an old Roman family name, notably borne by the famous Emperor Gaius Julius Caesar in the first century B.C. who expanded the Roman Empire by conquering Gaul (a large region of modern day Western Europe). The Julius family name is one of the most ancient of all the patrician Roman names, and it’s thought to be derived from a few places. The Greek word “ioulos” means ‘downy-bearded’ and the Roman Latin word for ‘youthful’ is “juvenalis.” Further, the name could also be a contracted form of the Latin “Jovilius” which means ‘descended from Jove (Jupiter)’ who was the king of all gods in Roman mythology. The clan Julius (Gens Julia) also believed themselves to be descended from Aeneas by way of his son Julus. In any case, this prominent ancient Roman family gave birth to all of the “Julius”-related names: Julian, Julia, Julie, Juliana, Juliet, etc. While the aforementioned Julius names have been in use since the Middle Ages and before, Julianna (with two “N”s) is a recent spelling alteration.