# Lilian (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/lilian/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | Latin |
| Meaning | “lily” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈlɪli.ən/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | Lil |
| Variant spellings | Lillian, Liliana, Lilliane, Lillyan, Lillyanne, Lilyan, Lilyann |
| US babies named this | 20,470 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 0 / 20,470 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 1,901, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Used since the sixteenth century, possibly originally a pet form of Elizabeth, but generally accepted as a variant of Late Latin lilium (“lily”).

## What it means

Lilian is grouped under lily.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 645 | 462 |
| 2012 | 676 | 463 |
| 2013 | 605 | 495 |
| 2014 | 622 | 502 |
| 2015 | 641 | 497 |
| 2016 | 560 | 559 |
| 2017 | 508 | 589 |
| 2018 | 494 | 612 |
| 2019 | 502 | 603 |
| 2020 | 439 | 656 |
| 2021 | 464 | 639 |
| 2022 | 519 | 577 |
| 2023 | 543 | 558 |
| 2024 | 544 | 558 |
| 2025 | 537 | 560 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 71 | 569 |
| 2012 | 67 | 624 |
| 2013 | 71 | 575 |
| 2014 | 69 | 597 |
| 2015 | 74 | 577 |
| 2016 | 67 | 630 |
| 2017 | 63 | 661 |
| 2018 | 77 | 540 |
| 2019 | 61 | 641 |
| 2020 | 73 | 545 |
| 2021 | 63 | 616 |
| 2022 | 69 | 562 |
| 2023 | 47 | 754 |
| 2024 | 70 | 558 |
| 2025 | 75 | 531 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: لِيلْيَان
- Chinese: 莉蓮 /莉莲
- Czech: Liliana
- Danish: Lilian, Lillian
- Estonian: Lilian
- French: Liliane
- German: Lilian
- Italian: Liliana
- Japanese: リリアン
- Korean: 릴리안
- Norwegian: Lillian
- Polish: Lilianna
- Portuguese: Liliana, Lílian
- Russian: Лилиа́на, Лилиа́н
- Spanish: Liliana
- Swedish: Lilian
- Turkish: Lilyan

## People named Lilian

- Lilian Thuram, French footballer (born 1972)
- Ethel Lilian Voynich, British writer and musician (1864–1960)
- Lilian Harvey, Anglo-German actress and singer
- Lilian Calmejane, French cyclist
- Lilian Jackson Braun, American mystery writer (1913-2011)
- Lilian Bond, British actress (1908–1991)
- Lilian Suzette Gibbs, British botanist, botanical collector, scientific illustrator, explorer and mountaineer (1
- Lilian Bland, English aviator (1878-1971)
- Lilian Marijnissen, Dutch former politician (born 1985)
- Lilian Laslandes, French footballer (born 1971)
- E. Lilian Todd, (1865-1937) American aviation pioneer
- Nora Lilian Alcock, British pioneering plant pathologist (1874–1972)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.