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Lillian

Gender
Girl
Say it
LIL-ee-an
Origin
Latin
UK rank, 2025
#370 for girls
US rank, 2025
#57 for girls

Lillian is a girls' name of Latin origin, meaning “lily”. In 2025 it ranked 370th for girls in the UK (129 babies) and 57th for girls in the US (3,966 babies).

What does Lillian mean?

Latin: spelling of Lilian

“lily”

A spelling of Lilian; the silent-film star Lillian Gish was a famous bearer.

More on Wiktionary.

Is Lillian a girl's or a boy's name?

Lillian is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 129 girls in the UK and 3,966 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.

How popular is Lillian in the UK?

Rank in 2025
370th among girls
Babies in 2025
129 about 1 in 2,200 girls
Five-year trend
Steady down 14% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 129 girls in the UK were named Lillian, making it the 370th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 346th. Its busiest year was 2017, with 186 girls.

Half of all the girls named Lillian in the UK since 1996 were born between 2008 and 2019. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier girls aren't counted.

In 2025, 214 girls in the UK were given Lillian or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #247, up from #370 for this spelling alone.

Among girls in 2025, it was 361st in England and Wales and 324th in Scotland.

In the England and Wales top 100 for girls, which the ONS has published every ten years since 1904: 1904 (#66), 1914 (#71) and 1924 (#90).

1996Busiest: 186 in 20172025
Lillian in the UK, year by year
YearGirlsRank
2025129#370
2024146#330
2023126#374
2022139#349
2021131#385
2020141#346
2019168#313
2018159#326
2017186#291
2016176#312
2015176#299
2014145#348
2013142#360
2012144#373
2011108#448
2010144#352
2009116#411
2008127#387
2007126#375
2006101#442
200596#432
200491#434
200375#488
200266#501
200158#552
200054#571
199949#606
199849#598
199742#670
199650#556

How popular is Lillian in the US?

Rank in 2025
57th among girls
Babies in 2025
3,966 about 1 in 410 girls
Five-year trend
Steady down 22% in five years
Same name in a class
3.4% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 3,966 girls in the US were named Lillian, making it the 57th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 46th. Its busiest year was 1920, with 10,049 girls.

Half of all the girls named Lillian in the US since 1880 were born between 1917 and 2005, the years shaded on the chart below.

In 2025, 4,662 girls in the US were given Lillian or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #57.

1880Busiest: 10,049 in 19202025
Lillian in the US, year by year
YearGirlsRank
20253,966#57
20243,893#54
20233,940#55
20224,260#50
20214,328#51
20204,515#46
20195,127#37
20185,567#34
20176,181#27
20166,386#28
20156,628#26
20146,924#25
20137,085#26
20127,171#25
20116,934#22
20106,957#22
20096,861#27
20086,817#29
20076,552#33
20066,236#38
20055,215#50
20044,734#65
20034,030#76
20023,397#96
20012,951#111
20002,600#129
19992,190#147
19981,718#174
19971,393#214
19961,127#251
1995942#294
1994882#308
1993736#347
1992749#348
1991770#342
1990722#366
1989695#368
1988646#373
1987531#420
1986554#404
1985540#413
1984468#443
1983453#456
1982475#449
1981518#419
1980510#424
1979436#463
1978399#486
1977470#433
1976479#422
1975454#436
1974483#413
1973564#373
1972620#355
1971677#361
1970782#335
1969773#324
1968813#308
1967843#298
1966881#285
19651,016#272
19641,065#275
19631,163#258
19621,308#244
19611,311#240
19601,433#223
19591,468#218
19581,421#218
19571,604#209
19561,631#201
19551,658#195
19541,627#194
19531,657#186
19521,733#178
19511,826#167
19501,884#156
19491,945#153
19482,115#136
19472,090#143
19462,160#129
19452,017#124
19442,120#126
19432,392#116
19422,489#111
19412,462#103
19402,525#97
19392,551#99
19382,825#88
19372,899#84
19363,117#79
19353,423#66
19343,973#52
19333,998#51
19324,351#48
19314,807#47
19305,447#44
19295,712#40
19286,577#35
19277,182#32
19267,661#28
19258,351#25
19249,100#23
19239,328#20
19229,430#19
19219,770#19
192010,049#18
19199,516#17
19189,986#15
19179,843#15
19169,592#16
19159,546#15
19147,354#16
19136,015#16
19125,568#14
19114,367#13
19104,127#14
19093,596#14
19083,634#13
19073,542#13
19063,293#13
19053,185#13
19043,139#12
19032,972#13
19023,063#11
19012,681#10
19003,414#10
18992,703#10
18983,061#10
18972,683#11
18962,702#11
18952,495#16
18942,441#16
18932,193#20
18922,154#20
18911,812#20
18901,862#19
18891,640#23
18881,656#23
18871,308#26
18861,282#24
18851,143#27
18841,109#26
1883907#26
1882830#32
1881723#32
1880672#32

Nicknames for Lillian

Names like Lillian

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Beatrice, Evelyn, Violet, Clara, Mabel, Nora, Rose, Florence, Elsie, Ada, Annie, Nellie

Other spellings of Lillian

Lilian, Liliane, Lilien, Lilliann, Lillianne, Lilianne, Liliann, Lillien, Lylian, Lyllian

Names related to Lillian

Liliana, Lilianna, Lilliana, Lily-Ann, Lilyana, Lilly-Ann, Lillianna, Lilyann, Lillyana

More Latin names

Oliver, Olivia, Leo, Roman, Aurora, Emily, Luna, Rosie, Emilia, Max, Nova, Lucy, Julian, Anthony, Austin, Felix

Every Latin name

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.

To cite this page: Nameling, “Lillian: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/lillian, updated 20 October 2026.