Lillian — #54 US girls' name
471,024 babies named Lillian in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1920. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
More common than 99.7% of names given to girls today.
18% of everyone ever named Lillian was born in this single decade.
10,049 babies were named Lillian in 1920 — its busiest year on record.
What the Data Says About Lillian
The Social Security Administration has registered 471,024 babies named Lillian between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a girl's name, Lillian currently holds the #54 rank among girls for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1920, when 10,049 babies received it in a single year.
Decade-level aggregation shows that Lillian performed strongest in the 1920s, accumulating 83,159 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Lillian shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in New York, which accounts for 42,375 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Pennsylvania and Texas. In total, SSA state-level files list Lillian in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.
No etymological entry is currently available for Lillian in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 471,024 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.
Lillian at a glance
Top 100 girls' namePeak year
Current rank
Active since
Lillian popularity over time — girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880
- Peak year (1920)
- 10,049
- Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
Currently ranks #54 among girls.
471,024 total births across 145 years of SSA records. Peaked in 1920 with 10,049 births in a single year.
Lillian popularity over time — boys
1,429 total births recorded since 1882 (Lillian as boys' name)
Unisex use remains the minority pattern
The boys' variant of Lillian accounts for 0% of total recorded use across both genders.
Lillian by decade
Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance
- Peak decade
- 1920s
- 83,159 births that decade — 18% of Lillian's all-time total
Lillian decade highlights
- Peak decade 83,159 births
- Runner-up 75,914 births
- Modern era share 2010s + 2020s
- Decades tracked with recorded births
1920s was Lillian's strongest decade
83,159 babies received the name during that ten-year window — about 18% of all-time use.
Lillian by state
Where Lillian concentrates geographically — total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 42,375 | 9.0% |
| #2 | Pennsylvania | | 25,013 | 5.3% |
| #3 | Texas | | 21,202 | 4.5% |
| #4 | Illinois | | 20,653 | 4.4% |
| #5 | California | | 18,780 | 4.0% |
| #6 | Ohio | | 18,288 | 3.9% |
| #7 | Michigan | | 14,925 | 3.2% |
| #8 | Massachusetts | | 14,530 | 3.1% |
42,375 of 471,024 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Top 5 states
- New York 9.0% of nationwide
- Pennsylvania 5.3% of nationwide
- Texas 4.5% of nationwide
- Illinois 4.4% of nationwide
- California 4.0% of nationwide
Recorded in 51 of 51 SSA jurisdictions
New York accounts for 9.0% of all recorded births nationwide — a relatively diffuse profile for this name.
Lillian appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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Data Sources
Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.