John Charles Julian Lennon

John - named after John Lennon

Charles - named after Charles Powell

Julian - named after Julia Stanley Lennon

At the time of 1963, I suppose it was difficult to determine the gender of the baby. There were no ultrasounds then until the late 1970s. So, it makes perfect sense to have names for both boy and girl to be prepared for anything. I don't know when John and Cynthia talked about and settled on the names- probably whenever John was home or maybe even their conversations over the phone; it's like any couple expecting a baby to discuss names. It seemed straight off the bat that both wanted family names for their baby. Both Charles and Julia were quickly on the table after their deceased parent. Actually, Julia was going to be named for either girl or boy, no matter what; the name Julian for a boy was the closest they could come to. I am very sure that it was John who wanted his child named after his mother and it was Cynthia who came up with Julian for a boy option. There was a moment worry for John when someone (who? I wonder! This part of the conversation must have been over the phone and it could be either Paul or George who knew for sure that Cynthia was pregnant; Ringo is iffy) thought the name Julian sounded poofy, sissy sounding but John and Cynthia laughed it off. Naming their child after a loved one was more important!

Then there's Charles. Definitely on the table for a boy, but for a girl? I am guessing that the girl would be Julia Lennon, but would she have a middle name? Cynthia didn't have a middle name (I know about this Lillian middle name business and I will rant about that make-believe middle name in another post!) but her mother Lillian Anne did. John's mother Julia and his Aunt Harrie didn't have middle names and yet their older sisters, Mimi, Mater, and Nanny, did. So, let's give the girl middle name a benefit of the doubt… I Googled female names for Charles and here's what popped up: Charlotte, Caroline, Charlie (or Charley), Cara, Charlesa, Charleigh, Charlene, Charlize, Carlotta… you get the idea. I especially like Charlotte and Caroline but who knew how Cynthia and John felt about those options? Julia Charlotte? Julia Caroline? Julia Charlene? Honestly, all those could work with Julia! Or just plain Julia Lennon and save Charles for a second child option (another separate post plan!).

Finally, John. After the sperm-man. The father. John Winston Lennon. My betting money will go on Cynthia for thinking up with that one for her baby. Although I don't think John wanted his son to be a Junior, as he hated his middle name Winston (after England's Prime Minister, Winston Churchill) and went as far to try to change it in 1969 to Ono but due to unique circumstances in England, John couldn't omit Winston and had to settle as John Winston Ono Lennon instead.

Interestingly enough, in 1975, John had another son with Yoko Ono and they named him Sean Taro Ono Lennon. Why is that interesting? Well… Sean is the Irish version of John; Taro is a Japanese version of John (and Ono is after, you guess it, Yoko!). So, technically speaking, Sean’s name is actually John John Ono Lennon! But since Julian already had a claim of John and there was a baby that Yoko miscarried in 1968 named John Ono Lennon II (Seriously?) John and Yoko settled on Sean Taro. So, John has both (well, three, if you count the deceased baby) of his boys named after him.

Julian and Cynthia in Liverpool, Autumn of 1963

Photographed by David Birch

Now, I don't know when Cynthia decided to nickname her son Julian. It sounded like it happened right away but from what Julian said of the name confusion it may have taken a while. I think it is definitely clear that Julian was Julian by 1964.

“We’d already decided that if the baby was a girl she would be called Julia after John’s late mother. A boy was to be John Charles Julian. In the end, two Johns proved confusing, my eldest brother was already Charles, so the baby became Julian.”

Cynthia, 1994

"When I was a baby and my parents were still together, I was called 'John' and there was always confusion. My mum would say, 'John, come here,' and we wouldn't know which one. So they started calling me Julian to clear up that problem. The name fits me"
Julian, 1985

“I didn't decide. What really happened was Mum shouting, you know, 'John! Come in here, your dinner’s ready!’ We both come running in, so Mum started calling me Julian.”

Julian, 2013

Billy J. Kramer

To mark his son’s birth in a silent clever way, John suggested to Brian Epstein to add a J to another of his client's Billy Kramer and the Dakotas. John thought Billy J. Kramer had a better flow. Brian agreed and I guess Billy was up for it but wasn't too keen on what it really stood for…

“He actually put the J in my name. I went into Brian’s office, and he said, ‘John’s got a suggestion. How about Billy ‘J’ Kramer. It’s American sounding, it’s catchy. It flows.’ And I said, ‘What do I say if someone asks what it stands for?’ And he said, ‘Julian’. Now, I didn’t even know John was married, let alone had a son called Julian, so I said, ‘I don’t like that name, that’s a real poofter’s name!’”

Billy J. Kramer, 1985

“At the time I said, ‘What if anybody asks me what does it stand for,’ and John said, ‘Julian.' I said, ‘I don't really like that name.’ I didn't know that John was married at the time with a son. But that's what I said.”

Billy J. Kramer

“Shortly afterwards I was called into a meeting with Brian at his office and John Lennon was there. Brian said to me: ‘John's come up with an idea. He thinks your name would sound much better if we added the initial 'J' to it. How does Billy J. Kramer sound?’ I said: 'That's okay by me, but what do I say to the press if they ask me what the 'J' stands for?’ John said 'You can tell them it stands for Julian.' To tell you the truth, I thought Julian sounded like a puff's name and I refused to use it. I didn't know at the time that John had a son and had named him Julian in memory of his mother."

Billy J. Kramer

As of 2008 when I met Billy at Beatles Fest in Las Vegas, he had never met Julian. Billy has met Cynthia a few times which will come up as the blog continues on…

For John's part, he did call Julian 'Julian’ so he was all for the nickname. He also never forgot Julian's two names, John and Charles. I have heard from time to time that John called Julian 'J. C. J.’, he even addressed Julian on a postcard as 'J. C. Julian’ as shown on the second postcard below in 1979.

John's postcard to his Aunt Mater and cousin Stan mentioning 'John Charles Julian', May of 1963

John's postcard to 'J. C. Julian' in Ruthin, Wales from New York City, April of 1979