Lilian

“Lily” — Latin origin

Girl's name · #560 in the US (2025) · 2010s

Lilian reached its best rank, #367, in 1882 and ranked #560 in 2025. About 20,000 girls have carried it since 1880. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records. Lilian's short forms are Lily, Lil, and Lilly. About 6,100 girls a year are given Lily as their full name. Lilian is the less common spelling of Lillian — about 12% of babies given the name are written this way; Lillian itself ranked #57 in 2025.

Around the world: about 1 in 1,100 girls in Sweden (2025) · about 1 in 2,200 girls in Austria (2025) · about 1 in 2,500 girls in Canada (2024).

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 34 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Lilians

Lilian Harvey — Anglo-German actress and singer
Lilian Garcia — ring announcer and singer
Lilian Bach — Nigerian actress
Lilian Jackson Braun — American mystery writer (1913-2011)
Lilian Bond — British actress (1908–1991)

In stories & tradition

Lilian Bellamy — The Archers

What Lilians become

Among 666 notable people named Lilian:

Entertainers appear 1.44× more often than among typical names — e.g. Lilian Harvey, Anglo-German actress and singer.

Similar names: Lilliana · Emelia · Lillie · Allie · Jillian · Lina

Browse more girl names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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