Lily
Lily was the 18th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 6,673 babies. Its best year was 2011, when it ranked 15th with 8,192 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 7 places. More babies were named Lily in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Meaning the lily flower · English
Say it LIL-ee /ˈlɪli/
- Rank in 2025
- #18 girls, up 17 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 6,673girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20118,192 babies
- Total since 1880
- 189,789babies recorded
What does the name Lily mean?
Lily is the flower name. It became an English given name in the 19th century, part of a fashion for flower names. Wiktionary and Wikipedia both note that it also serves as a pet form of Lilian, and sometimes of Elizabeth. In Christian art the lily is a symbol of purity.
lily (English, “lily (flower)”)
How sure is this? Well established.
See also: English names, names that mean flower.
Nicknames for Lily
The usual nicknames for Lily are Lil.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lil · also for Lillian, Lilith | Traditional | — | — |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Lilys go by each one.
Lily popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 145 since 1927.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #18 | 6,673 |
| 2020 | #35 | 5,258 |
| 2010 | #17 | 7,992 |
| 2000 | #124 | 2,733 |
| 1990 | #584 | 396 |
| 1980 | #836 | 187 |
| 1970 | #1,002 | 125 |
| 1960 | #948 | 127 |
| 1950 | #741 | 135 |
| 1940 | #509 | 186 |
| 1930 | #389 | 305 |
| 1920 | #331 | 386 |
| 1910 | #310 | 154 |
| 1900 | #292 | 126 |
| 1890 | #255 | 96 |
| 1880 | #241 | 41 |
How popular is Lily, counting every spelling?
Lily is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #13 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #18 for Lily on its own. Together these spellings went to 8,464 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lily | 6,673 | #18 | 30,614 |
| Lilly | 1,218 | #252 | 6,312 |
| Lillie | 420 | #676 | 1,992 |
| Lili | 61 | #2,800 | 309 |
| Lilli | 37 | #3,953 | 192 |
| Lillee | 15 | #7,348 | 111 |
| Lilee | 17 | #6,713 | 94 |
| Lilie | 12 | #8,648 | 56 |
| Lilley | 6 | #14,206 | 33 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Lily?
6,673 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Lily (1.85 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Lily born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is about 1 in 29. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 1 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Lily.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Lily?
About 176,000 people born in the US named Lily are alive today, with a median age of 15; half are between 8 and 20. That makes Lily mostly worn by children and young adults.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Lily by state
How common Lily was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Hawaii (3.3×), Vermont (3.2×), Wyoming (2.7×), Rhode Island (2.3×), New Hampshire (2.3×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Texas, Mississippi, Indiana.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Lily: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Lily, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Lily · Sibling names for Lily
Lily is also a nickname for Lillian, Liliana, Lilith and Lilyana.
Questions about the name Lily
What does Lily mean?
Lily means “the lily flower” (English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Lily?
Lily was the 18th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 6,673 babies. Its best year was 2011, when it ranked 15th with 8,192 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 7 places. More babies were named Lily in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Is Lily a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Lily in the US.
Where is Lily most popular?
In 2021–2025, Lily was most common in Hawaii (12.30 per 1,000 girls), followed by Vermont and Wyoming.