Lillian
Lillian was given to 3,966 girls in 2025, #57 among girls’ names; 476,457 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 203,000 Americans named Lillian and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (43% of everyone recorded); the median is 18 years old and half are between 11 and 42.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Lillian by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Lillian mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Lillian is “a female given name from Latin, of American usage; variant form Lilian (UK).” Its etymology gives the sense “lily” (lilium).
Used since the sixteenth century, possibly originally a pet form of Elizabeth, but generally accepted as a variant of Late Latin lilium (“lily”).
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Lillian?
#57 among girls’ names, 2025
Lillian fell from #26 in 2015 to #57 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 3.7 to 2.5 per 1,000.
10,075 babies in 1920, the peak
Lillian peaked in 1920, when 10,075 babies were given it (10,049 girls, #18 among girls’ names). The 3,966 births of 2025 are 39% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3,966 | #57 | 2.5 |
| 2024 | 3,893 | #54 | 2.4 |
| 2023 | 3,940 | #55 | 2.5 |
| 2022 | 4,260 | #50 | 2.6 |
| 2021 | 4,328 | #51 | 2.6 |
| 2020 | 4,515 | #46 | 2.8 |
| 2019 | 5,127 | #37 | 3.1 |
| 2018 | 5,567 | #34 | 3.3 |
| 2017 | 6,181 | #27 | 3.6 |
| 2016 | 6,386 | #28 | 3.6 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 6,628 | #26 | 3.7 |
| 2014 | 6,924 | #25 | 3.9 |
| 2013 | 7,085 | #26 | 4.0 |
| 2012 | 7,171 | #25 | 4.1 |
| 2011 | 6,934 | #22 | 3.9 |
| 2010 | 6,957 | #22 | 3.9 |
| 2009 | 6,861 | #27 | 3.7 |
| 2008 | 6,817 | #29 | 3.6 |
| 2007 | 6,552 | #33 | 3.4 |
| 2006 | 6,236 | #38 | 3.3 |
| 2005 | 5,215 | #50 | 2.8 |
| 2004 | 4,734 | #65 | 2.6 |
| 2003 | 4,030 | #76 | 2.2 |
| 2002 | 3,397 | #96 | 1.9 |
| 2001 | 2,951 | #111 | 1.6 |
| 2000 | 2,600 | #129 | 1.4 |
| 1999 | 2,190 | #147 | 1.2 |
| 1998 | 1,718 | #174 | 1.0 |
| 1997 | 1,393 | #215 | 0.80 |
| 1996 | 1,127 | #251 | 0.64 |
| 1995 | 942 | #294 | 0.54 |
| 1994 | 882 | #308 | 0.49 |
| 1993 | 736 | #347 | 0.41 |
| 1992 | 749 | #348 | 0.41 |
| 1991 | 770 | #342 | 0.41 |
| 1990 | 722 | #366 | 0.38 |
| 1989 | 695 | #369 | 0.38 |
| 1988 | 646 | #373 | 0.36 |
| 1987 | 531 | #420 | 0.31 |
| 1986 | 554 | #404 | 0.32 |
| 1985 | 540 | #413 | 0.31 |
| 1984 | 468 | #444 | 0.28 |
| 1983 | 453 | #456 | 0.27 |
| 1982 | 475 | #449 | 0.28 |
| 1981 | 518 | #420 | 0.31 |
| 1980 | 510 | #425 | 0.31 |
| 1979 | 436 | #464 | 0.27 |
| 1978 | 399 | #487 | 0.26 |
| 1977 | 470 | #435 | 0.31 |
| 1976 | 479 | #422 | 0.33 |
| 1975 | 454 | #437 | 0.31 |
| 1974 | 483 | #413 | 0.33 |
| 1973 | 564 | #373 | 0.39 |
| 1972 | 620 | #355 | 0.41 |
| 1971 | 677 | #361 | 0.41 |
| 1970 | 782 | #335 | 0.45 |
| 1969 | 773 | #324 | 0.46 |
| 1968 | 813 | #308 | 0.50 |
| 1967 | 843 | #298 | 0.51 |
| 1966 | 881 | #285 | 0.52 |
| 1965 | 1,016 | #272 | 0.58 |
| 1964 | 1,065 | #275 | 0.56 |
| 1963 | 1,163 | #259 | 0.60 |
| 1962 | 1,308 | #244 | 0.67 |
| 1961 | 1,311 | #240 | 0.65 |
| 1960 | 1,433 | #223 | 0.71 |
| 1959 | 1,468 | #218 | 0.73 |
| 1958 | 1,421 | #218 | 0.71 |
| 1957 | 1,604 | #209 | 0.78 |
| 1956 | 1,631 | #201 | 0.81 |
| 1955 | 1,658 | #195 | 0.85 |
| 1954 | 1,627 | #194 | 0.84 |
| 1953 | 1,657 | #186 | 0.88 |
| 1952 | 1,733 | #178 | 0.93 |
| 1951 | 1,826 | #167 | 1.0 |
| 1950 | 1,884 | #156 | 1.1 |
| 1949 | 1,945 | #153 | 1.1 |
| 1948 | 2,115 | #136 | 1.2 |
| 1947 | 2,090 | #143 | 1.2 |
| 1946 | 2,160 | #129 | 1.4 |
| 1945 | 2,017 | #124 | 1.5 |
| 1944 | 2,120 | #126 | 1.6 |
| 1943 | 2,392 | #116 | 1.7 |
| 1942 | 2,489 | #111 | 1.8 |
| 1941 | 2,462 | #104 | 2.0 |
| 1940 | 2,525 | #97 | 2.2 |
| 1939 | 2,551 | #99 | 2.3 |
| 1938 | 2,825 | #88 | 2.6 |
| 1937 | 2,899 | #84 | 2.7 |
| 1936 | 3,117 | #79 | 3.0 |
| 1935 | 3,423 | #66 | 3.3 |
| 1934 | 3,973 | #52 | 3.8 |
| 1933 | 3,998 | #51 | 4.0 |
| 1932 | 4,351 | #48 | 4.1 |
| 1931 | 4,807 | #47 | 4.5 |
| 1930 | 5,447 | #44 | 4.8 |
| 1929 | 5,712 | #40 | 5.1 |
| 1928 | 6,577 | #35 | 5.7 |
| 1927 | 7,182 | #32 | 6.0 |
| 1926 | 7,661 | #28 | 6.5 |
| 1925 | 8,351 | #25 | 6.9 |
| 1924 | 9,100 | #23 | 7.3 |
| 1923 | 9,328 | #20 | 7.7 |
| 1922 | 9,430 | #19 | 7.9 |
| 1921 | 9,770 | #19 | 7.9 |
| 1920 | 10,049 | #18 | 8.4 |
| 1919 | 9,516 | #17 | 8.4 |
| 1918 | 9,986 | #15 | 8.6 |
| 1917 | 9,843 | #15 | 9.1 |
| 1916 | 9,592 | #16 | 9.2 |
| 1915 | 9,546 | #15 | 9.7 |
| 1914 | 7,354 | #16 | 9.7 |
| 1913 | 6,015 | #16 | 9.6 |
| 1912 | 5,568 | #14 | 10.0 |
| 1911 | 4,367 | #13 | 10.4 |
| 1910 | 4,127 | #14 | 10.4 |
| 1909 | 3,596 | #14 | 10.4 |
| 1908 | 3,634 | #13 | 10.9 |
| 1907 | 3,542 | #13 | 11.1 |
| 1906 | 3,293 | #13 | 11.2 |
| 1905 | 3,185 | #13 | 10.9 |
| 1904 | 3,139 | #12 | 11.4 |
| 1903 | 2,972 | #13 | 11.3 |
| 1902 | 3,063 | #11 | 11.6 |
| 1901 | 2,681 | #10 | 11.2 |
| 1900 | 3,414 | #10 | 11.4 |
| 1899 | 2,703 | #10 | 11.6 |
| 1898 | 3,061 | #10 | 11.8 |
| 1897 | 2,683 | #11 | 11.5 |
| 1896 | 2,702 | #11 | 11.4 |
| 1895 | 2,495 | #16 | 10.7 |
| 1894 | 2,441 | #16 | 11.0 |
| 1893 | 2,193 | #20 | 10.3 |
| 1892 | 2,154 | #20 | 10.1 |
| 1891 | 1,812 | #20 | 9.8 |
| 1890 | 1,862 | #19 | 9.8 |
| 1889 | 1,640 | #23 | 9.2 |
| 1888 | 1,656 | #23 | 9.3 |
| 1887 | 1,308 | #26 | 9.0 |
| 1886 | 1,282 | #24 | 8.9 |
| 1885 | 1,143 | #27 | 8.6 |
| 1884 | 1,109 | #26 | 8.6 |
| 1883 | 907 | #26 | 8.1 |
| 1882 | 830 | #32 | 7.7 |
| 1881 | 723 | #32 | 7.9 |
| 1880 | 672 | #32 | 7.4 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Lillian a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Lillian has been given almost only to girls: 1,429 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Lillian: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Lillian, and how old are they?
203,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 43% of the 476,457 Americans ever recorded as Lillian. The median Lillian alive today is 18 years old; half are between 11 and 42.
The 2020 Census counted 182,256 people named Lillian (182,036 women and girls, 220 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 198,785 born in the U.S. The Census count is 8% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 15,100 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 23,700 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 9,440 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 10,500 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 75,100 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 68,400 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Lillian born?
The states with the most babies named Lillian are New York, Pennsylvania and Texas, with 22% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 42,550 | #97 | 1.3× |
| Pennsylvania | 25,201 | #45 | 0.9× |
| Texas | 21,512 | #85 | 0.7× |
| Illinois | 20,799 | #52 | 1.0× |
| California | 18,981 | #152 | 0.6× |
| Ohio | 18,491 | #30 | 1.0× |
| Michigan | 15,074 | #36 | 1.0× |
| Massachusetts | 14,623 | #55 | 1.2× |
| North Carolina | 14,198 | #33 | 1.0× |
| Georgia | 12,759 | #63 | 0.9× |
Where Lillian is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Lillian is most over-represented in New York: since 1910 it was given 1.3 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Lillian with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 508,676 babies since 1880, Lillian is the most given (94% of them). In 2025 it was given to 3,966 of their 4,652 babies (85%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Lillian
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Lillian and names like it
- Compare Lillian and LilianBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sLillian peaked in 1920.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Lillian since 1910.
- The top names of 1920The year the most babies were named Lillian.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Lillian alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with LMost given first.