Lily

What Lily means

Diminutive of Lilian, possibly meaning “lily”

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

Source: Wiktionary, “Lily” (revision 93760146) and “Lilian” (revision 94541167), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Lily?

US: Rising: up from #25 in 2015. England & Wales: Rising: up from #13 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2011, when 8,192 girls got the name (#15 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 241 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 113 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 93 baby girls in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in HI (12.59 per 1,000 girls), DC (12.38 per 1,000 girls), VT (11.29 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Lily is #18 in the US and #2 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Lily were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Lyla3,089 US · 751 E&W
• Lilah1,736 US · 464 E&W
• Lila1,670 US · 277 E&W
• Lola1,132 US · 524 E&W
• Lilly1,218 US · 382 E&W
• Leila1,193 US · 171 E&W
• Laila755 US · 151 E&W
• Lili61 US · 72 E&W

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Lily

Girls

• Serenity#129Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #129 vs #997 in 2025
• Journey#411Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #411 vs #3,333 in 2025
• Sienna#94Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #229 in 2015, #94 in 2025
• Audrey#86“noble + strength”^*
• Promise#823Editor’s note 330 US babies in 2025, but under 3 in England & Wales
• Journee#258Editor’s note 1,198 US babies in 2025, but under 3 in England & Wales

For a brother

• Deacon#561Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1971, with 15 babies
• Rowan#59“little red one”^*
• Tate#193Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #420 in 2015, #193 in 2025
• Alden#598“old + friend”^*
• Angel#67Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #67 vs #1,307 in 2025
• Ocean#717“sea”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under English, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Lily’s. Rank is US 2025.