ninan.org

Lillian

Girls' name · Early 20th-century perennial

Living in the US
~209,000 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#57 among girls
Births in 2025
3,966 476,457 since 1880
Typical age
18 years, median

Lillian popularity over time

Lillian rank by birth year, 1880–2025Lillian ranked #32 in 1880 and #57 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #10, in 1898.#10#100#57best #10 in 189818901920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1880–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

1920 is the peak year for Lillian, with 10,075 births. The name is already in use in 1880, where the data begins. It has held a top-100 place in 85 separate years.

The 2025 position is #57, on 3,966 births. The ten-year change is -40%.

Babies named Lillian per yearPeaks at 10,075 births in 1920.10,075 in 1920018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Lillian?

Roughly 209,000 Lillians are alive in the US right now. SSA has recorded 476,457 births under the name since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Lillian?

Median age among living Lillians: 18. More of them were born in the 2010s than in any other decade. By the site’s era rules that makes Lillian a early 20th-century perennial name.

Your Lillian

Ages of living people named LillianHalf of living Lillians are older than 18 and half younger.median 18020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Lillian is most common

Vermont uses the name 4.0× as often as the country as a whole. Maine, New Hampshire and Wyoming follow.

Where Lillian is used more than average5 states use the name Lillian more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: 2.9× the national rateMEVermont: 4.0× the national rateVTNew Hampshire: 2.8× the national rateNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: 2.5× the national rateWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: not over-representedPANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: not over-representedCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: 2.4× the national rateWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: not over-representedDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Lillian is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Vermont 133 4.0×
Maine 298 2.9×
New Hampshire 315 2.8×
Wyoming 78 2.5×
West Virginia 418 2.4×

Lillian in England and Wales

In England and Wales, Lillian ranked #361 in 2025 on 119 births.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Lillian comes from

Used since the sixteenth century, possibly originally a pet form of Elizabeth, but generally accepted as a variant of Late Latin lilium (“lily”).

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Lillian

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Lillian Gish American actor, actress, motion picture producers and director, screenwriter 1893–1993 95
Lillian Hellman American dramatist and screenwriter 1905–1984 43
Lillian Moller Gilbreth American psychologist and industrial engineer 1878–1972 39
Lillian Wald American nurse and activist 1867–1940 26
Lillian Copeland athletics competitor 1904–1964 25
Lillian Asplund One of the last three living survivors:RMS Titanic on April 15, 1912 1906–2006 22
Lillian Roth American actress, singer 1910–1980 22
Lillian Russell American opera singer and actress 1861–1922 21
Photo credits (7)

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/lillian.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).