Total births
189,644
Girls' name · since 1880
Lily
189,644 babies named Lily in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 2011. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #24
- among girls today
- 189,644
- born since 1880
- 2010s
- peak decade
- 99.9%
- more common than other girls
Lily currently ranks #24 among girls' names in America, with 189,644 babies recorded since 1880.
Lily has 189,644 recorded births among girls since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #24 as of the latest data, more common than 99.9% of girls, busiest in the 2010s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #24 among girls today
- 189,644 born since 1880
- 2010s peak decade
- 99.9% more common than other girls
Data updated Jun 2026
The verdict
Lily is currently the #24 girls' name in America, more common than 99.9% of girls - 189,644 born since 1880, peaking in the 2010s.
- #24
- among girls today
- 189,644
- born since 1880
- 2010s
- peak decade
- 99.9%
- more common than other girls
Lily vs. every other girls name in current SSA rankings
#24
of 17,726 girls in use
More common than 99.9% of names given to girls today.
2010s
Peak decade
36% of everyone ever named Lily was born in this single decade.
2011
Single peak year
8,192 babies were named Lily in 2011 - its busiest year on record.
How Lily compares
189,644 Top 1% higher than 99% of 17,726 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Lily's all-time total is 496x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Lily | Median girls name (Emerly) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 189,644 | 382 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 8,192 | 48 | 19,840 |
Lily's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Lily's full recorded timeline at 1953, 93% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 7% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1880, with just 41 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 2011 peak of 8,192 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Lily at a glance
Top 100 girls' namePeak year
2011
Current rank
#24
Active since
1880
Lily popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (2011)
- 8,192
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Lily popularity over time - boys
145 total births recorded since 1927 (Lily as boys' name)
Lily by decade
Total births in each ten-year window, peak vs trough at a glance
2010s was Lily's strongest decade.
68,316 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 36% of all-time use.
Lily births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 680
1880s
680 births
- 1890s 979
1890s
979 births
- 1900s 1,045
1900s
1,045 births
- 1910s 2,795
1910s
2,795 births
- 1920s 3,757
1920s
3,757 births
- 1930s 2,229
1930s
2,229 births
- 1940s 1,511
1940s
1,511 births
- 1950s 1,426
1950s
1,426 births
- 1960s 1,148
1960s
1,148 births
- 1970s 1,220
1970s
1,220 births
- 1980s 2,708
1980s
2,708 births
- 1990s 9,772
1990s
9,772 births
- 2000s
2000s
56,186 births
- 2010s
2010s
68,316 births
- 2020s
2020s
35,872 births
What this shows Peak: 2010s at 68,316 births (36% of all-time use).
How Lily compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Lily's total volume
Lily vs 15 similarly-sized girls names
Lily by state
Where Lily concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 21,134 | 11.1% |
| #2 | Texas | | 13,341 | 7.0% |
| #3 | New York | | 11,576 | 6.1% |
| #4 | Florida | | 9,197 | 4.8% |
| #5 | Pennsylvania | | 7,773 | 4.1% |
| #6 | Illinois | | 6,814 | 3.6% |
| #7 | Ohio | | 6,369 | 3.4% |
| #8 | Michigan | | 5,684 | 3.0% |
California share of Lily's total US births 11.1%
Even split
21,134 of 189,644 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Lily appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Lily? ▼
Lily has been given to 189,644 babies in the U.S. since 1880, according to SSA data. Among girls, it ranks #24 as of the latest data. 8,192 babies were born in 2011, its single highest year.
When was Lily most popular? ▼
Lily was most popular in the 2010s decade with 68,316 total births. The single peak year was 2011.
Where is Lily most popular? ▼
The top states for the name Lily are California (21,134 births), Texas (13,341 births), New York (11,576 births).
How long has the name Lily been used? ▼
Records for Lily go back to 1880, giving 146 years of history through 2025.
What names are similar to Lily? ▼
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Lillian, Lillie, Lila, Liliana, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.
What to do with Lily's data
- Lily's usage has stayed within range of its 2010s decade-level peak (68,316 total births) through the 2020s (35,872) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
- California records the most Lilys (21,134 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
- Weighing it against an alternative? Put two names side by side. Compare names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Lily
Nearby Names Like Lily
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Lily
Lillian Girl
#54 475,028 births
Lillie Girl
#682 158,918 births
Lila Girl
#206 76,493 births
Liliana Girl
#80 74,990 births
Lilly Girl
#261 66,728 births
Compare Lily side by side: Lily vs Lillian Lily vs Lillie Lily vs Lila
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Lily
Data Sources
Data as of June 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Cite this page
NameAlmanac Editorial. "Lily: #24 Girls' Name - 189,644 Births, Peak 2011." NameAlmanac. Accessed via https://namealmanac.com/name/lily. Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Lily draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.