How do you pronounce “Giulia?”

Alfa-Romeo Giulia Name Pronunciation Guide

It’s hard to resist the appeal of the Alfa-Romeo Giulia. This compact executive car boasts one-of-a-kind style and hot-blooded performance. Individuals come from miles around seeking out the unique experience that the Alfa-Romeo machine delivers.

However, one hiccup in the Giulia experience comes from a language barrier. Alfa-Romeo is a proudly Italian brand, and the name Giulia is thoroughly rooted in the vernacular of that home nation. How is the name “Giulia” actually pronounced?

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Giulia is pronounced “Joo-Lee-Uh”; basically, it’s just like the English name “Julia.” Giulia is a girl’s name in Italian, coming from Italian and Latin origin meaning, “youthful.” These days, it’s beginning to be adopted in this spelling by English-speaking parents as well, including Debi Mazar of Entourage fame. Over the years, many famous individuals have had the name Giulia, most of whom were Italian.

The name Giulia has been applied to three not-directly-related models produced by Alfa Romeo over the years. The first was a line of sporty four-door compacts produced from 1962 to 1978. Next came the Spider, Sprint and Sprint Speciale Giuliettas. Third is the executive car we know and love today, which was first unveiled in 2015.

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Why did Alfa-Romeo choose the name Giulia?

It’s rumored that the name Giulia was conceived for the model as a reference to Romeo and Juliet. In this theory, the Romeo part of the equation would obviously come from brand name: Alfa-Romeo. It’s a pretty romantic notion: one car named after two of the most famous lovers in popular culture.

However, the origin of the name has never been explicitly revealed by Alfa-Romeo. There are three main tales of where the model name Giulia originated:

1. A woman named Giorgia De Cousandier simply picked the name for reasons unclear.
2. The model is named after Federico Fellini’s wife, Giulietta Masina.
3. A bunch of Alfa Romeo bigwigs were in Paris and hanging out at a nightclub with Grand Prix driver Jean-Pierre Wimille in 1950. They encountered a Russian prince, who quipped, “You are eight Romeos, without even one Giulietta?” This quip inspired the Alfa-Romeo folks to propose the model name.