Lily
Lily was given to 6,673 girls in 2025, #18 among girls’ names; 189,789 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 176,000 Americans named Lily and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (93% of everyone recorded); the median is 15 years old and half are between 8 and 20.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Lily by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Lily mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Lily is “a female given name from English, popular around 1900 and currently returning to favor.”
A 19th-century flower name, from lily. Also a diminutive of Lilian and sometimes Elizabeth.
/ˈlɪli/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Lily?
#18 among girls’ names, 2025
Lily rose from #25 in 2015 to #18 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 3.7 to 4.2 per 1,000.
8,199 babies in 2011, the peak
Lily peaked in 2011, when 8,199 babies were given it (8,192 girls, #15 among girls’ names). The 6,673 births of 2025 are 81% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 6,673 | #18 | 4.2 |
| 2024 | 6,121 | #24 | 3.8 |
| 2023 | 6,176 | #20 | 3.8 |
| 2022 | 6,012 | #30 | 3.7 |
| 2021 | 5,632 | #31 | 3.4 |
| 2020 | 5,258 | #35 | 3.3 |
| 2019 | 5,461 | #34 | 3.3 |
| 2018 | 5,753 | #31 | 3.4 |
| 2017 | 5,862 | #33 | 3.4 |
| 2016 | 6,610 | #24 | 3.7 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 6,683 | #25 | 3.7 |
| 2014 | 6,789 | #27 | 3.8 |
| 2013 | 7,004 | #27 | 4.0 |
| 2012 | 7,970 | #16 | 4.5 |
| 2011 | 8,192 | #15 | 4.7 |
| 2010 | 7,992 | #17 | 4.5 |
| 2009 | 8,101 | #18 | 4.4 |
| 2008 | 8,128 | #24 | 4.3 |
| 2007 | 7,499 | #27 | 3.9 |
| 2006 | 6,768 | #33 | 3.6 |
| 2005 | 6,090 | #39 | 3.3 |
| 2004 | 5,402 | #53 | 2.9 |
| 2003 | 4,434 | #69 | 2.4 |
| 2002 | 3,834 | #79 | 2.1 |
| 2001 | 3,197 | #103 | 1.8 |
| 2000 | 2,733 | #124 | 1.5 |
| 1999 | 2,123 | #152 | 1.2 |
| 1998 | 1,752 | #169 | 1.0 |
| 1997 | 1,355 | #220 | 0.78 |
| 1996 | 1,091 | #261 | 0.62 |
| 1995 | 853 | #320 | 0.49 |
| 1994 | 648 | #391 | 0.36 |
| 1993 | 557 | #450 | 0.31 |
| 1992 | 523 | #473 | 0.28 |
| 1991 | 474 | #501 | 0.25 |
| 1990 | 396 | #583 | 0.21 |
| 1989 | 417 | #545 | 0.23 |
| 1988 | 400 | #546 | 0.22 |
| 1987 | 309 | #623 | 0.18 |
| 1986 | 292 | #634 | 0.17 |
| 1985 | 243 | #711 | 0.14 |
| 1984 | 223 | #733 | 0.13 |
| 1983 | 206 | #778 | 0.12 |
| 1982 | 208 | #784 | 0.12 |
| 1981 | 223 | #742 | 0.13 |
| 1980 | 187 | #836 | 0.11 |
| 1979 | 150 | #965 | 0.09 |
| 1978 | 111 | #1,151 | 0.07 |
| 1977 | 107 | #1,164 | 0.07 |
| 1976 | 133 | #960 | 0.09 |
| 1975 | 122 | #1,002 | 0.08 |
| 1974 | 107 | #1,091 | 0.07 |
| 1973 | 102 | #1,108 | 0.07 |
| 1972 | 139 | #902 | 0.09 |
| 1971 | 124 | #1,006 | 0.07 |
| 1970 | 125 | #1,002 | 0.07 |
| 1969 | 116 | #1,005 | 0.07 |
| 1968 | 99 | #1,063 | 0.06 |
| 1967 | 96 | #1,063 | 0.06 |
| 1966 | 112 | #963 | 0.07 |
| 1965 | 94 | #1,081 | 0.05 |
| 1964 | 133 | #906 | 0.07 |
| 1963 | 123 | #955 | 0.06 |
| 1962 | 120 | #976 | 0.06 |
| 1961 | 128 | #956 | 0.06 |
| 1960 | 127 | #947 | 0.06 |
| 1959 | 127 | #930 | 0.06 |
| 1958 | 149 | #834 | 0.07 |
| 1957 | 149 | #832 | 0.07 |
| 1956 | 159 | #783 | 0.08 |
| 1955 | 165 | #739 | 0.08 |
| 1954 | 144 | #780 | 0.07 |
| 1953 | 130 | #805 | 0.07 |
| 1952 | 133 | #777 | 0.07 |
| 1951 | 135 | #757 | 0.07 |
| 1950 | 135 | #740 | 0.08 |
| 1949 | 131 | #748 | 0.08 |
| 1948 | 139 | #712 | 0.08 |
| 1947 | 138 | #728 | 0.08 |
| 1946 | 122 | #737 | 0.08 |
| 1945 | 142 | #606 | 0.11 |
| 1944 | 154 | #593 | 0.12 |
| 1943 | 160 | #596 | 0.11 |
| 1942 | 173 | #562 | 0.13 |
| 1941 | 166 | #547 | 0.14 |
| 1940 | 186 | #509 | 0.16 |
| 1939 | 168 | #518 | 0.15 |
| 1938 | 195 | #475 | 0.18 |
| 1937 | 178 | #492 | 0.17 |
| 1936 | 202 | #449 | 0.19 |
| 1935 | 210 | #447 | 0.20 |
| 1934 | 216 | #442 | 0.21 |
| 1933 | 242 | #412 | 0.24 |
| 1932 | 245 | #420 | 0.23 |
| 1931 | 268 | #399 | 0.25 |
| 1930 | 305 | #389 | 0.27 |
| 1929 | 302 | #387 | 0.27 |
| 1928 | 345 | #370 | 0.30 |
| 1927 | 366 | #355 | 0.31 |
| 1926 | 344 | #362 | 0.29 |
| 1925 | 362 | #360 | 0.30 |
| 1924 | 409 | #332 | 0.33 |
| 1923 | 418 | #317 | 0.35 |
| 1922 | 418 | #317 | 0.35 |
| 1921 | 407 | #326 | 0.33 |
| 1920 | 386 | #331 | 0.32 |
| 1919 | 368 | #332 | 0.33 |
| 1918 | 388 | #326 | 0.34 |
| 1917 | 330 | #347 | 0.31 |
| 1916 | 373 | #312 | 0.36 |
| 1915 | 343 | #321 | 0.35 |
| 1914 | 252 | #331 | 0.33 |
| 1913 | 212 | #330 | 0.34 |
| 1912 | 245 | #291 | 0.44 |
| 1911 | 130 | #351 | 0.31 |
| 1910 | 154 | #310 | 0.39 |
| 1909 | 109 | #344 | 0.31 |
| 1908 | 102 | #357 | 0.31 |
| 1907 | 104 | #342 | 0.33 |
| 1906 | 82 | #378 | 0.28 |
| 1905 | 134 | #287 | 0.46 |
| 1904 | 105 | #317 | 0.38 |
| 1903 | 95 | #319 | 0.36 |
| 1902 | 99 | #316 | 0.37 |
| 1901 | 89 | #319 | 0.37 |
| 1900 | 126 | #292 | 0.42 |
| 1899 | 115 | #267 | 0.49 |
| 1898 | 92 | #326 | 0.36 |
| 1897 | 113 | #269 | 0.48 |
| 1896 | 100 | #292 | 0.42 |
| 1895 | 101 | #280 | 0.43 |
| 1894 | 108 | #265 | 0.48 |
| 1893 | 83 | #296 | 0.39 |
| 1892 | 98 | #268 | 0.46 |
| 1891 | 73 | #294 | 0.39 |
| 1890 | 96 | #255 | 0.50 |
| 1889 | 84 | #257 | 0.47 |
| 1888 | 102 | #229 | 0.57 |
| 1887 | 59 | #275 | 0.40 |
| 1886 | 75 | #239 | 0.52 |
| 1885 | 88 | #201 | 0.66 |
| 1884 | 60 | #252 | 0.47 |
| 1883 | 62 | #231 | 0.55 |
| 1882 | 63 | #215 | 0.58 |
| 1881 | 46 | #231 | 0.50 |
| 1880 | 41 | #241 | 0.45 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Lily a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Lily has been given almost only to girls: 145 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Lily: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Lily, and how old are they?
176,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 93% of the 189,789 Americans ever recorded as Lily. The median Lily alive today is 15 years old; half are between 8 and 20.
The 2020 Census counted 155,678 people named Lily (155,415 women and girls, 263 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 143,115 born in the U.S. The Census count is 9% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 979 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 2,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,790 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 6,900 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 84,900 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 79,600 |
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 Lily born?
The states with the most babies named Lily are California, Texas and Florida, with 27% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 748 | #25 | 0.9× |
| Texas | 591 | #31 | 0.7× |
| Florida | 450 | #17 | 0.9× |
| New York | 426 | #16 | 1.0× |
| Pennsylvania | 235 | #21 | 1.0× |
| North Carolina | 226 | #18 | 0.9× |
| Ohio | 217 | #27 | 0.9× |
| New Jersey | 215 | #17 | 0.9× |
| Illinois | 214 | #22 | 0.9× |
| Georgia | 210 | #20 | 0.8× |
Where Lily is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Lily is most over-represented in Hawaii: since 1910 it was given 1.7 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 Lily 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 454,329 babies since 1880, Lily is the most given (42% of them). In 2025 it was given to 6,673 of their 16,253 babies (41%), 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 Lily
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 Lily and names like it
- Compare Lily and LilaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2010sLily peaked in 2011.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Lily since 1910.
- English namesWiktionary’s origin for Lily: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2011The year the most babies were named Lily.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Lily alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with LMost given first.