Julius Lester: Hi. My name is Julius Lester. Although the proper way to say my name is Julius, everybody, including me, says Julius. When I was little, other children had a hard time pronouncing my name, so they would call me Jujulis. I was named by my mother, who's name was Julia. I had an older brother, who was named for my father. When my mother was pregnant with me, she was hoping that I would be a girl. I wasn't, but I was named for her anyway.