Jillian
Jillian is both a feminine given name and a surname. A spelling variant of Gillian, it originates as a feminine form of the given name Julian, Julio, Julius, and Julien.
- English
Meaning & Origin of Jillian
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Jillian is both a feminine given name and a surname. A spelling variant of Gillian, it originates as a feminine form of the given name Julian, Julio, Julius, and Julien.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- English
The Story of Jillian
Jillian first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1944, with 5 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 1982: 3,056 births, good for #96 nationwide. About 31% of every Jillian on record arrived during the 1980s, its defining decade. As of 2026, Jillian ranks #1,203 for baby girls with 196 births, falling sharply (-41%). All told, over 83K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1940s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Variants & Related Forms of Jillian
Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Jillian. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Names that sound like Jillian
Phonetically similar names — useful when Jillian is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Jillian
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About the name Jillian
Jillian is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1944 and has accumulated 83K births in the dataset. Jillian's peak popularity came in 1982 when it ranked #96. Use the chart and map above to compare Jillian's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1982 →
- Names of the 1980s →
- Names starting with "J" →
- Browse all girl names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.