Julia or Laura?

[danascully96]

Which do you prefer? Is Laura more classless? I know a Julia and she is only ever called Julia, so I don't think the nickname "Jules" is necessarily inherent. I love classic movies, so both would fit into the mold of a classic heroine.

For instance, Julia's so utterly romantic, but I fear it may indicate an upper class upbringing and I don't want her name to seem snobby... although I never got that impression from those named Julia, so maybe I'm overanalyzing.

Meanwhile, Laura is so hauntingly evocative, but it's got two different pronunciations -- "Lore-uh" vs. "Lahr-uh" (in the English speaking world, that is). I wonder if that will become a pain?

I also adore the summery name Lily (with Jane as a middle name) and I don't want to get trapped in a Laura and Lily sibset where every name that follows has to start with an L thereafter.

For now, I think Laura and Lily are my favorites, but I could easily be swayed toward Julia and Lily or Julia and Laura as well.

Thoughts? I'm not pregnant, just mulling these over. Thank you!

I'm a Julia and really like it. I've never been called Jules (even though I don't mind it) and have only once been called posh (I'm boringly middle class, unfortunately!). I love the fact that it's well known and international and one of those girls names that has been used so widely in literature (it's Biblical and used by Shakespeare, Bronte, Austen, Dickens etc); yet it's rarely been in the top 100 girls names in this country.

Having said all that, Laura is gorgeous too (although I've only heard it pronounced "Lore -uh" in the UK, whereas the equally lovely Lara is pronounced "Lahr -uh"). The only problem with Laura over Julia is that Laura was the number one girls name for a while in the 70's/80's. So because there are a lot of 30-50 year old Laura's out there, a few people find it dated (although I think it's classic).

Laura, but never heard it pronounced anything other than. lore-ah
unless you're in italy/Spain and then its Lowra

Lily is very pretty but quite popular/trendy. Could use Lilia or Lilian instead? Jane however is truly classic and underused now - it would be refreshing to meet a little Jane.

I love Julia. I think because most of the Julia’s I think of are a bit older than me whereas Laura is up there with Claire Alice and Emma - there were many of them in my generation.

Lily will be one of those names for the generation that is at primary school right now imo!

I prefer Lara or Clara to Laura. Every other girl in school was a Laura.

Not keen on Julia either, went to school with loads of them too so it feels a bit 90s to me.

I've got a Laura who's 19 months :) , but Julia is beautiful too!

I think both are lovely classic names and so refreshing to see these days.

Lahr ra is Lara isn’t it? Laura is Lore ra.

I know a 6 year old Laura, it’s cute.

Laura

I love both Julia and Laura, it's hard to choose between them.

I also like Lily Jane.

I've only ever known one Julia and she was utterly awful. A genuine piece of work. I just can't like the name!

On the other hand, Laura is gorgeous and classic and needs to be brought back in IMO. Lily is currently popular so a completely different kettle of fish.

Julia and Laura are unusual names for babies just now but they are familiar names which people will be able to pronounce and spell so I like both!

I'm a Julia. I really, really like my name. I'm not even middle class never mind posh and I think my name always added to my confidence. I'm older and grew up a lone Julia in a sea of Julies. I know of one other who I met as an adult.

Julia is much nicer than Laura.

Another Julia here. I've always loved my name. Pretty without being fussy, fairly unusual but not unheard of. Easy to spell, easy to pronounce, classic. I have a couple of old friends who call me Jules and family members who call me Ju but it's rarely shortened.

I also like Laura. Lily Jane is a bit wet IMO

Julia is lovely, but I do prefer Juliette or Julianna.

I considered naming my baby Julia last year. To be honest I am glad I didn't go for it. When pregnant I imagined a classy, international pretty kind of name. Now I have came across a couple of Julie's in their 60s and it has just made me see the name in a whole new light! And made me see it in a way that others may see it.

Sorry to all the Julia's out their, I don't hate it but I do think people can view it in very different ways.

I love all three names. In English speaking countries you would find only one pronunciation of Laura.
Laura is probably my favourite but if Lily is also on the cards I would choose Julia.

I say “Lore-uh” myself (am American), but people in Southern US and other parts of the US say “Lahr-uh.” I don’t know why, but I promise it’s true

Those who brought up Lara and Clara, I would pronounce Lara and Clara like “Lair-uh” and “Clair-uh.” Not saying my accent is all that lovely Actually that’s why I really don’t like Lara; however, it sounds much better with the long A.

Laura Elizabeth would be the combo, by the way! I think “Laura-Beth” would work well as a pet name, although the smoosh may be slightly twee.

Thanks to everyone for your feedback so far!

I’m not a fan of Lillia, reminds me of Lilets.

I guess the two different pronunciations for Laura only exist in the US given your responses, so maybe it’s not that big of a deal. I’d wager that most of us say Laura in the US too, but it differs by region.

Laura and Julia seem the most popular in this thread and I’m happy with that pairing :) The debate over Lily and Lilly and all its variants does discourage me from using that name.

Laura was the most popular girls’ name only briefly, so although there was a spike it’s not like one of those names that remained in the top ten for years. I only met one other throughout my 70s/80s childhood.

Julia is a lovely name. It’s that rare thing, a true underused classic.

I think both are good, but Laura was one of those names like Claire where it was really popular in my age group so unfortunately, that loses some of its appeal. I'd choose Julia over it, though I think now Julia is slightly more popular than Laura so that issue with Laura isn't something the child would have to worry about.

Just to be awkward, I know Lily is popular in the UK but Lily Jane sounds so adorable to me. Is it very popular in the US?