Lucille
Lucille was the 239th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 1,314 babies. Its best year was 1919, when it ranked 27th; the most babies were born in 1920 (7,989). Over the last ten years it has moved up 47 places. More babies were named Lucille in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Meaning light (via French Lucille, Latin Lucilla) · Latin, French
Say it loo-SEEL /luˈsil/
- Rank in 2025
- #239 girls, up 35 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 1,314girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19207,989 babies
- Total since 1880
- 233,321babies recorded
What does the name Lucille mean?
Lucille is the French form of Latin Lucilla, a diminutive of the Roman name Lucia (Lucy). Lucia is traditionally linked with Latin lux, "light"; DMNES glosses Lucy in the same way. Yonge's 1884 index also lists Lucilla with the gloss "light". Lucille was a fashionable name in the US in the early 20th century, which Wiktionary notes, and has recently returned.
Lucilla (Latin, “diminutive of Lucia”)lux (Latin, “light”)
How sure is this? Probable. The light connection is the standard explanation of Lucia; Lucilla is a diminutive of it.
Related names: Lucile, Lucy, Lucia, Lucilla.
See also: Latin names, names that mean light.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Lucille', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources (ed. S. L. Uckelman), Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Lucy', DMNES, Durham University
- Charlotte M. Yonge, History of Christian Names, new ed. (1884), index s.v. 'Lucilla' (19th-century work; used for dated usage facts only), Macmillan (public domain; Internet Archive scan)
Nicknames for Lucille
The usual nicknames for Lucille are Lucy and Lu. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Lucille in the last five years, 434 were named Lucy, against 587 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lucy · also for Lucia, Luciana, Lucinda | Traditional | #25 | 25,390 |
| Lu · also for Lucy, Lucia, Luella | Modern | #12,652 | 35 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Lucilles go by each one.
Lucille popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 750 since 1900.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #239 | 1,314 |
| 2020 | #274 | 1,139 |
| 2010 | #476 | 634 |
| 2000 | #1,269 | 154 |
| 1990 | #1,417 | 112 |
| 1980 | #1,101 | 126 |
| 1970 | #677 | 235 |
| 1960 | #370 | 677 |
| 1950 | #180 | 1,550 |
| 1940 | #113 | 2,271 |
| 1930 | #59 | 4,327 |
| 1920 | #29 | 7,989 |
| 1910 | #31 | 2,692 |
| 1900 | #67 | 1,182 |
| 1890 | #148 | 241 |
| 1880 | #249 | 40 |
How popular is Lucille, counting every spelling?
Lucille is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #257 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #239 for Lucille on its own. Together these spellings went to 1,340 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lucille | 1,314 | #239 | 5,854 |
| Lucile | 26 | #5,051 | 160 |
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 Lucille?
1,314 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Lucille (0.36 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Lucille born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 6 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Lucille.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Lucille?
About 54,800 people born in the US named Lucille are alive today, with a median age of 67; half are between 13 and 80. That makes Lucille a name most people associate with older generations. The wide spread shows a name popular in two different eras.
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.
Lucille by state
How common Lucille was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in South Dakota (3.7×), Minnesota (3.1×), Montana (2.8×), New Hampshire (2.7×), Nebraska (2.7×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in New Mexico, Rhode Island, District of Columbia.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Lucille: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Lucille, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Lucille · Sibling names for Lucille
Questions about the name Lucille
What does Lucille mean?
Lucille means “light (via French Lucille, Latin Lucilla)” (Latin, French origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Lucille?
Lucille was the 239th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 1,314 babies. Its best year was 1919, when it ranked 27th; the most babies were born in 1920 (7,989). Over the last ten years it has moved up 47 places. More babies were named Lucille in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Is Lucille a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Lucille in the US.
Where is Lucille most popular?
In 2021–2025, Lucille was most common in Vermont (2.68 per 1,000 girls), followed by South Dakota and Minnesota.