Top 60 US name Girls' name Peak 1920 471,024 births

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.

1880s112701890s241061900s325191910s759141920s831591930s373931940s223141950s165081960s106071970s53631980s53891990s112292000s493922010s649482020s20913
#54
of 17,661 girls in use

More common than 99.7% of names given to girls today.

1920s
Peak decade

18% of everyone ever named Lillian was born in this single decade.

1920
Single peak year

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' name

Total births

471,024

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

1920

10,049 births that year

Strongest decade: 1920s

Current rank

#54

In the top 100

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Lillian popularity over time — girls

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880

Top 100 girls' name
Peak year (1920)
10,049
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
-5,00005,00010,00015,000 202420051986196719481929191018911880 672

Lillian popularity over time — boys

1,429 total births recorded since 1882 (Lillian as boys' name)

Unisex variant — 1,429 births
01020304050 202020001962194419311918190518921882 6

Lillian by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1920s
Peak decade
1920s
83,159 births that decade — 18% of Lillian's all-time total
1880s112701890s241061900s325191910s759141920s831591930s373931940s223141950s165081960s106071970s53631980s53891990s112292000s493922010s649482020s20913

Lillian by state

Where Lillian concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Lillian
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%
New York share of Lillian's total US births 9.0%
Even split

42,375 of 471,024 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Lillian appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Lillian?
471,024 babies have been named Lillian since 1880. It currently ranks #54 among girls. The peak year was 1920 with 10,049 births.
When was Lillian most popular?
Lillian was most popular in the 1920s decade with 83,159 total births. The single peak year was 1920.
Where is Lillian most popular?
The top states for the name Lillian are New York (42,375 births), Pennsylvania (25,013 births), Texas (21,202 births).
How long has the name Lillian been used?
Lillian has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Lillian?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Lily, Lillie, Lila, Liliana, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.

Keep exploring Lillian

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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.