fem. proper name, from French Juliane, from Late Latin Juliana (a saint's name), fem. of Iulianus, literally "of Julius," the Roman gens name (see Julius).
Entries linking to gillian
Julius
masc. proper name, from Latin Iulius (Spanish Julio, Italian Giulio), name of a Roman gens, perhaps a contraction of *Iovilios "pertaining to or descended from Jove," from PIE *iou-li-, from root *dyeu- "to shine," in derivatives "sky, heaven, god."
Gill
fem. proper name, shortened form of Gillian. Also see Jill. Gill-flirt "giddy young woman" is from 1630s.
Jill
fem. proper name, Middle English Jille, Jylle, Gille, etc., familiar shortening of Jillian, Gillian, which represent the common Middle English pronunciation of Juliana (see Gillian). A very popular name for girls in medieval England, hence its use as a familiar, almost generic, name for a girl (early 15c.; paired with Jack since mid-15c.).