Lily Name Meaning
Lily has been sending parents’ hearts aflutter for generations thanks to her soft sound and sweet imagery. Named after plants with large, starlike flowers, Lily is of English origin. The lily flower represents purity and love, two things any parents would wish for their little one.
Like her floral sisters Violet and Daisy, Lily has worldwide appeal. She’s right at home in the UK and U.S. alike, even wandering into France and Germany without much of a fuss. She also fits in well with the nature baby name trend alongside sisters Willow and Ruby, and brothers Drake and Jasper.
A little Lily brings to mind dainty lace and extravagant dollhouses, all beloved by a spirited girl with endless imagination. Lily grows with her wearer wonderfully, easily blossoming into adulthood and beyond. The name is expressly feminine yet not overly so, allowing your little one to carve her own path in the great big world.
While Lily is the most common spelling of the name, she does have alternative spellings for parents to explore including Lilly and Lillie. Variants of the name are plentiful with Lillian, Liliana, Lillia, and Lilith all leading to the precious nickname of Lily should parents choose.
Infographic of Lily name meaning, which is Named after the beautiful flower, Lily is an English name.
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Lily Name Popularity
How popular is the name Lily? Here’s everything we know.
Year |
Rank |
# Births |
% Births |
1910 |
332 |
94 |
0.0267% |
1911 |
403 |
59 |
0.0158% |
1912 |
304 |
182 |
0.0361% |
1913 |
348 |
155 |
0.0273% |
1914 |
343 |
200 |
0.0287% |
1915 |
320 |
309 |
0.034% |
1916 |
314 |
333 |
0.0345% |
1917 |
349 |
275 |
0.0275% |
1918 |
325 |
354 |
0.033% |
1919 |
330 |
333 |
0.0318% |
1920 |
330 |
353 |
0.0317% |
1921 |
320 |
379 |
0.0331% |
1922 |
318 |
378 |
0.0339% |
1923 |
321 |
374 |
0.0334% |
1924 |
337 |
361 |
0.0311% |
1925 |
359 |
316 |
0.028% |
1926 |
376 |
282 |
0.0256% |
1927 |
356 |
322 |
0.0291% |
1928 |
367 |
304 |
0.0284% |
1929 |
380 |
263 |
0.0254% |
1930 |
383 |
267 |
0.0256% |
1931 |
402 |
210 |
0.0213% |
1932 |
437 |
184 |
0.0186% |
1933 |
429 |
186 |
0.02% |
1934 |
451 |
162 |
0.0168% |
1935 |
465 |
140 |
0.0144% |
1936 |
452 |
156 |
0.0162% |
1937 |
490 |
133 |
0.0135% |
1938 |
487 |
144 |
0.0141% |
1939 |
520 |
120 |
0.0118% |
1940 |
545 |
118 |
0.0111% |
1941 |
562 |
111 |
0.0099% |
1942 |
551 |
133 |
0.0105% |
1943 |
626 |
103 |
0.0079% |
1944 |
600 |
104 |
0.0084% |
1945 |
621 |
94 |
0.0077% |
1946 |
825 |
56 |
0.0038% |
1947 |
757 |
85 |
0.0051% |
1948 |
804 |
69 |
0.0043% |
1949 |
801 |
76 |
0.0047% |
1950 |
833 |
69 |
0.0043% |
1951 |
861 |
67 |
0.004% |
1952 |
819 |
77 |
0.0044% |
1953 |
962 |
53 |
0.003% |
1954 |
847 |
78 |
0.0043% |
1955 |
766 |
106 |
0.0058% |
1956 |
830 |
95 |
0.005% |
1957 |
934 |
75 |
0.0039% |
1958 |
864 |
90 |
0.0048% |
1959 |
958 |
74 |
0.0039% |
1960 |
963 |
74 |
0.0039% |
1961 |
942 |
84 |
0.0044% |
1962 |
1,024 |
65 |
0.0035% |
1963 |
928 |
78 |
0.0043% |
1964 |
876 |
92 |
0.0052% |
1965 |
1,171 |
40 |
0.0024% |
1966 |
915 |
73 |
0.0047% |
1967 |
1,021 |
55 |
0.0036% |
1968 |
1,008 |
58 |
0.0039% |
1969 |
1,027 |
63 |
0.0041% |
1970 |
947 |
85 |
0.0053% |
1971 |
993 |
77 |
0.0051% |
1972 |
895 |
90 |
0.0066% |
1973 |
1,111 |
52 |
0.004% |
1974 |
1,022 |
69 |
0.0053% |
1975 |
997 |
72 |
0.0056% |
1976 |
983 |
77 |
0.006% |
1977 |
1,173 |
58 |
0.0043% |
1978 |
1,198 |
57 |
0.0042% |
1979 |
970 |
96 |
0.0068% |
1980 |
853 |
129 |
0.0088% |
1981 |
782 |
156 |
0.0106% |
1982 |
801 |
148 |
0.0099% |
1983 |
780 |
149 |
0.0101% |
1984 |
763 |
159 |
0.0107% |
1985 |
734 |
182 |
0.012% |
1986 |
635 |
243 |
0.0161% |
1987 |
637 |
246 |
0.0161% |
1988 |
546 |
354 |
0.0227% |
1989 |
560 |
357 |
0.0221% |
1990 |
586 |
349 |
0.0211% |
1991 |
497 |
434 |
0.0266% |
1992 |
470 |
482 |
0.0302% |
1993 |
444 |
519 |
0.0333% |
1994 |
391 |
607 |
0.0396% |
1995 |
323 |
808 |
0.0536% |
1996 |
260 |
1,062 |
0.0709% |
1997 |
219 |
1,337 |
0.0904% |
1998 |
169 |
1,746 |
0.1167% |
1999 |
152 |
2,112 |
0.141% |
2000 |
123 |
2,725 |
0.1784% |
2001 |
102 |
3,193 |
0.2119% |
2002 |
79 |
3,834 |
0.2558% |
2003 |
69 |
4,431 |
0.2913% |
2004 |
53 |
5,400 |
0.3543% |
2005 |
39 |
6,088 |
0.3982% |
2006 |
33 |
6,764 |
0.432% |
2007 |
27 |
7,496 |
0.4751% |
2008 |
24 |
8,119 |
0.5253% |
2009 |
18 |
8,096 |
0.5417% |
2010 |
17 |
7,983 |
0.554% |
2011 |
15 |
8,177 |
0.5739% |
2012 |
16 |
7,955 |
0.5582% |
2013 |
27 |
6,987 |
0.4907% |
2014 |
27 |
6,768 |
0.4645% |
2015 |
25 |
6,658 |
0.4576% |
2016 |
24 |
6,585 |
0.4567% |
2017 |
33 |
5,816 |
0.4167% |
2018 |
31 |
5,706 |
0.4153% |
2019 |
34 |
5,419 |
0.4003% |
2020 |
36 |
5,083 |
0.3993% |
2021 |
33 |
5,156 |
0.4218% |
2022 |
30 |
5,966 |
0.4522% |
District of Columbia (DC)
Data via SSA.gov.
Names Like Lily
If you like Lily, you’ll love these other names like Lily.
What names are diminutives of Lily?
A diminutive is a name that’s like Lily sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Lily, but shorter.
Name |
Meaning |
Origin |
Popularity |
Other Gender |
Lil
|
A short form of Lilian.
|
Latin
|
|
|
What names are variants of Lily?
Mix it up with these names that are a variation of the name Lily.
What names sound like Lily?
If you like how Lily sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Lily.
Name |
Meaning |
Origin |
Popularity |
Other Gender |
Laila
|
Night
|
Arabic
|
|
|
Laily
|
Night beauty
|
Arabic
|
|
|
Lala
|
Tulip
|
Slavic
|
|
|
Lali
|
Talk; well-spoken
|
Greek
|
|
|
Lally
|
Well-spoken; to chatter or babble
|
Greek
|
|
|
Lalya
|
Talk; well-spoken
|
Greek
|
|
|
Leila
|
Night
|
Arabic
|
|
|
Lela
|
Black beauty
|
African
|
|
|
Lilah
|
Night
|
Arabic
|
|
|
Lisl
|
God's promise; God is my oath
|
Hebrew
|
|
|
Lola
|
The sorrows
|
Spanish
|
|
|
Lolly
|
The bay, or laurel plant
|
Latin
|
|
|
Lula
|
Famous warrior
|
German
|
|
|
Lulu
|
Precious; pearl; calm, peaceful, protected
|
Latin
|
|
|
Lyla
|
Night
|
English
|
|
|
Millie
|
Gentle strength
|
English
|
|
|
Tilly
|
Mighty in battle
|
German
|
|
|
What names are similar to Lily?
Find a name that’s like Lily, but just a little bit different.
Name |
Meaning |
Origin |
Popularity |
Other Gender |
Callie
|
Beautiful one
|
Greek
|
|
|
Daisy
|
Daisy flower
|
English
|
|
|
Hannah
|
Grace
|
Hebrew
|
|
|
Holly
|
The holly tree
|
English
|
|
|
Lucy
|
Of the light
|
English
|
|
|
Mia
|
Dear
|
Scandinavian
|
|
|
Molly
|
Of the sea
|
English
|
|
|
Rose
|
Rose flower
|
English
|
|
|
Violet
|
Violet flower
|
English
|
|
|
Willow
|
Willow tree
|
English
|
|
|
Lists With Lily
Find inspiration in these baby girl name lists featuring the name Lily.
Siblings of Lily
Mamas with kids named Lily also have kids with these names.
Ivy
|
Ivy plant
|
English
|
|
|
Rowan
|
Of the rowan tree
|
Gaelic
|
|
|
Daisy
|
Daisy flower
|
English
|
|
|
Arlo
|
Armed hill
|
English
|
|
|
Reed
|
Red
|
English
|
|
|
Lucy
|
Of the light
|
English
|
|
|
James
|
Supplanter
|
English
|
|
|
Luke
|
From Lucania
|
Greek
|
|
|
Michael
|
Who is Like God?
|
Hebrew
|
|
|
Brooke
|
Small stream
|
English
|
|
|
Levi
|
Joined together
|
Hebrew
|
|
|
River
|
Flowing body of water
|
English
|
|
|
Adalee
|
God is my refuge; noble one
|
Hebrew
|
|
|