This unusual and interesting surname is of early
medieval English origin, and is a
diminutive of the male
given name Julian, itself coming from the
Latin "Julianus", a derivative of "Julius", a name related to "Iovis", the supreme god, whose name seems to be akin to words for "sky", "light" and "day". This name was borne by a number of early saints including St. Julian the Hospitaller, the patron of travellers. It was introduced into England in the late 12th Century, and is first recorded in the Latin form "Julianus" in Documents relating to the
Danelaw, Lincolnshire, dated 1185. Early examples of the surname include: Walter Julien (Lincolnshire, 1200) and Henry Julian (Suffolk, 1327). In the modern idiom the surname has a number of
variant spellings including: Julian(s), Julien, and Joll(e). One Thomas
filius (son of) Golle appears in the 1196
Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire, and a William Jolle was noted in the 1327
Subsidy Rolls of Sussex. Recordings from
London Church Registers include the
christening of Mary, daughter of John and Elizabeth Jull, at St. Mary Whitechapel, Stepney, on July 1684, and the marriage of Robert Jull to Ann Halford at St. Martin in the Fields, on February 20th 1763. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert Julle, which was dated 1317,
witness in the "
Assize Court Rolls of Kent", during the reign of King Edward 11, known as "Edward of Caernafon", 1307 - 1327. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as
Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.