# Lillian (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/lillian/  
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 | not recorded |
| Nicknames | Lillie |
| Variant spellings | Lilian |
| US babies named this | 476,457 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 1,429 / 475,028 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 3,274, 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

Lillian 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 | 6,934 | 22 |
| 2012 | 7,171 | 25 |
| 2013 | 7,085 | 26 |
| 2014 | 6,924 | 25 |
| 2015 | 6,628 | 26 |
| 2016 | 6,386 | 28 |
| 2017 | 6,181 | 27 |
| 2018 | 5,567 | 34 |
| 2019 | 5,127 | 37 |
| 2020 | 4,515 | 46 |
| 2021 | 4,328 | 51 |
| 2022 | 4,260 | 50 |
| 2023 | 3,940 | 55 |
| 2024 | 3,893 | 54 |
| 2025 | 3,966 | 57 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 5 | 10,932 |
| 2000 | 5 | 11,478 |
| 2004 | 24 | 3,816 |
| 2005 | 9 | 8,054 |
| 2006 | 10 | 7,785 |
| 2007 | 10 | 7,949 |
| 2008 | 9 | 8,731 |
| 2009 | 6 | 11,890 |
| 2011 | 9 | 8,508 |
| 2012 | 5 | 13,441 |
| 2013 | 5 | 13,286 |
| 2015 | 5 | 13,262 |
| 2016 | 10 | 7,928 |
| 2017 | 7 | 10,354 |
| 2020 | 5 | 13,292 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 102 | 426 |
| 2012 | 138 | 349 |
| 2013 | 135 | 339 |
| 2014 | 132 | 348 |
| 2015 | 165 | 291 |
| 2016 | 169 | 293 |
| 2017 | 178 | 274 |
| 2018 | 145 | 330 |
| 2019 | 154 | 310 |
| 2020 | 137 | 333 |
| 2021 | 123 | 373 |
| 2022 | 129 | 336 |
| 2023 | 120 | 353 |
| 2024 | 140 | 309 |
| 2025 | 119 | 361 |

## People named Lillian

- Lillian Gish, American actor, actress, motion picture producers and director, screenwriter
- Lillian Hellman, American dramatist and screenwriter (1905-1984)
- Lillian Moller Gilbreth, American psychologist and industrial engineer (1878–1972)
- Lillian Wald, American nurse and activist (1867–1940)
- Lillian Copeland, American athletics competitor (born 1904)
- Lillian Roth, American actress, singer (1910-1980)
- Lillian Russell, American opera singer and actress (1860-1922)
- Lillian Adams, American actress (1922-2011)
- Lillian Board, British middle-distance runner
- Lillian Randolph, American actress (1898–1980)
- Lillian Disney, American artist and philanthropist (1899–1997)
- Lillian Watson, American swimmer

## 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.