Lillian Name Meaning, Origin, Popularity, Girl Names Like Lillian

Lillian Name Origin: English
Pronunciation: lil-ee-in
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Lillian Name Meaning

An original trendsetter in the old-lady chic movement, Lillian is an English name with botanical origins. A variant of the Latin “lilium,” Lillian is a feminine name in honor of the lily, a flower symbolizing purity and love.

Lillian first started appearing in the 1700s and has remained a steady fixture on the baby names charts though she lagged in popularity from the 1950s to the early 2000s before rising again. She’s a subtle nod to nature who isn’t quite as obvious as her sisters Violet, Rose, and Daisy, but certainly just as beautiful. She also offers the precious nicknames of Lilly or Lily, both popular monikers on their own. She’s also right at home with Evelyn and Amelia, two other blast from the past names that have been taking the baby name scene by storm alongside her.

Lillian offers a bit more depth than the less formal Lily, allowing your little one to stand apart from her floral roots. She ages well, carrying your little girl from doll babies to adulthood without feeling too cutesy. Lillian feels fresh despite her age and popularity, remaining a perky choice for parents to be.

An alternative spelling to the name is Lilian. Lillian also has plenty of variants from the familiar Leanna to the melodic Liliana and Lillia.

Lillian Name Popularity

How popular is the name Lillian? Here’s everything we know.

Year	Rank	# Births	% Births
1910	—	4,120	1.1702%
1911	—	4,362	1.1714%
1912	—	5,565	1.1035%
1913	—	6,011	1.0602%
1914	—	7,346	1.0541%
1915	—	9,544	1.0505%
1916	—	9,592	0.993%
1917	—	9,838	0.9834%
1918	—	9,981	0.93%
1919	—	9,513	0.9085%
1920	—	10,043	0.9032%
1921	—	9,770	0.8532%
1922	—	9,426	0.8461%
1923	—	9,323	0.8324%
1924	—	9,094	0.7831%
1925	—	8,350	0.7388%
1926	—	7,659	0.6964%
1927	—	7,180	0.6486%
1928	—	6,569	0.6139%
1929	—	5,706	0.5509%
1930	—	5,446	0.5214%
1931	—	4,797	0.486%
1932	—	4,344	0.4397%
1933	—	3,993	0.4286%
1934	—	3,968	0.4105%
1935	—	3,422	0.3521%
1936	—	3,108	0.3226%
1937	—	2,887	0.293%
1938	—	2,819	0.2754%
1939	—	2,548	0.2505%
1940	—	2,515	0.2366%
1941	—	2,452	0.2179%
1942	—	2,483	0.1966%
1943	—	2,389	0.183%
1944	—	2,107	0.17%
1945	—	2,005	0.1644%
1946	—	2,147	0.1455%
1947	—	2,069	0.1239%
1948	—	2,103	0.1317%
1949	—	1,914	0.119%
1950	—	1,870	0.1161%
1951	—	1,802	0.1063%
1952	—	1,701	0.0974%
1953	—	1,642	0.0928%
1954	—	1,594	0.0872%
1955	—	1,637	0.089%
1956	—	1,605	0.085%
1957	—	1,579	0.0821%
1958	—	1,398	0.074%
1959	—	1,448	0.0762%
1960	—	1,413	0.0746%
1961	—	1,276	0.0676%
1962	—	1,280	0.0697%
1963	—	1,142	0.0636%
1964	—	1,033	0.0587%
1965	—	979	0.0599%
1966	—	844	0.0541%
1967	—	801	0.0528%
1968	—	778	0.0518%
1969	—	732	0.0475%
1970	—	747	0.0469%
1971	—	633	0.0421%
1972	—	579	0.0425%
1973	—	517	0.0399%
1974	—	434	0.0334%
1975	—	408	0.0318%
1976	—	431	0.0334%
1977	—	425	0.0315%
1978	—	350	0.026%
1979	—	392	0.0278%
1980	—	467	0.0319%
1981	—	482	0.0328%
1982	—	431	0.0288%
1983	—	422	0.0286%
1984	—	435	0.0292%
1985	—	489	0.0322%
1986	—	502	0.0333%
1987	—	485	0.0318%
1988	—	622	0.0399%
1989	—	647	0.0401%
1990	—	685	0.0413%
1991	—	737	0.0452%
1992	—	715	0.0448%
1993	—	702	0.045%
1994	—	856	0.0558%
1995	—	918	0.0609%
1996	—	1,108	0.074%
1997	—	1,374	0.0929%
1998	—	1,700	0.1136%
1999	—	2,172	0.145%
2000	—	2,589	0.1695%
2001	—	2,944	0.1954%
2002	—	3,392	0.2264%
2003	—	4,025	0.2646%
2004	—	4,732	0.3105%
2005	—	5,212	0.3409%
2006	—	6,230	0.3979%
2007	—	6,547	0.415%
2008	—	6,808	0.4405%
2009	—	6,856	0.4587%
2010	—	6,951	0.4823%
2011	—	6,920	0.4857%
2012	—	7,156	0.5022%
2013	—	7,067	0.4964%
2014	—	6,909	0.4742%
2015	—	6,604	0.4539%
2016	—	6,353	0.4406%
2017	—	6,132	0.4393%
2018	—	5,534	0.4028%
2019	—	5,092	0.3761%
2020	—	4,369	0.3432%
2021	—	4,025	0.3293%
2022	—	4,226	0.3203%
2023	—	3,937	0.3042%

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Data via SSA.gov.

Names Like Lillian

If you like Lillian, you’ll love these other names like Lillian.

What names are diminutives of Lillian?

A diminutive is a name that’s like Lillian sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Lillian, but shorter.

Name	Meaning	Origin
Lil	A short form of Lilian.	Latin
Lila	Night	Arabic
Lili	Lily	Latin
Lilli	Lily	Latin
Lillie	Lily	Latin
Lilly	Lily flower	English
Lily	Lily flower	English

What names are variants of Lillian?

Mix it up with these names that are a variation of the name Lillian.

Name	Meaning	Origin
Lilia	Lily	Latin
Lilian	Lily	Latin
Liliana	Lily flower	English
Liliane	Lily	Latin
Lilianna	Lily	Latin
Lilias		Scottish
Lillia	Lily	Latin

Lilliana	Lily flower	English
Lilliane	Lily	Latin
Lilliann	Lily	Latin
Lillianna	Lily	Latin
Lillianne	Lily	Latin
Lillyan	Lily	Latin
Lillyanne	Lily	Latin
Lilyan	Lily	Latin
Lilyann	Lily	Latin
Lilyanne		Latin

What names sound like Lillian?

If you like how Lillian sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Lillian.

Name	Meaning	Origin
Gillian	Youthful	Latin
Jillian	Youthful	English
Lalani	Heavenly lei; royal child of heaven	Polynesian
Leilani	Heavenly flower	Polynesian
Leoline	Lion man	Greek

What names are similar to Lillian?

Find a name that’s like Lillian, but just a little bit different.

Name	Meaning	Origin	Popularity	Other Gender

Annabelle	Lovable and graceful	English
Eleanor	Of unknown meaning	English
Elizabeth	God is my oath	Hebrew
Emily	To excel	Latin
Evelyn	Desired one	English
Grace	Gracious one	English
Hannah	Grace	Hebrew
Lucille	Of the light	French
Rebecca	To join	Hebrew
Sarah	Princess	Hebrew

Lists With Lillian

Find inspiration in these baby girl name lists featuring the name Lillian.

Siblings of Lillian

Mamas with kids named Lillian also have kids with these names.

Name	Meaning	Origin
Evelina	A variant form of Eveline.	Latin
Isabella	Devoted to God	Italian
Camden	Valley	English
Skyler	Noble scholar	English
Kaleb	Whole heart	Hebrew

Oliva	Olive tree	Latin
Olivia	Olive tree	Latin
Amelia	Work	German

Share Your Thoughts

39 Comments

Nicole Sep 23 at 8:44 am

She’s named after my great grandmother and we also call her Lilly and Lil ?

Reply
Lauryn Apr 3 at 11:06 am

My 10 year old son picked her name. I’m not sure where or why he came up with it, but turns out it’s also my birth flower and also my GGG grandmothers name.

Reply
Erin Oct 29 at 11:42 am

My late maternal grandmother’s name was Lillian Jane Rose, although she went by her middle name, Jane, and signed documents as L. Jane Rose, so no one really knew her first name let alone ever call her by it. When I found out that I was pregnant with a girl, I wanted to name her after my grandmother. Our last name is Woods and the idea of nature names was very appealing to me. We decided on Lillian Rose Woods and will call our little girl Lilly. It fits our personalities perfectly and still pays homage to my family.

Reply
Jennifer Sep 13 at 8:16 am

We choose Lillian as the name for our baby girl because I loved names that I could shorten. So Lillian shortens to Lily. My mom’s name is Suzanne which means Lily. Biblically Lily means purity. We loved that too. Her middle name is Faith. Faith is my husband’s mom’s name. So she is named after both of her grandmas.

Reply
Nicole Mar 23 at 4:28 pm

It was my grandmother’s name

Reply
Marian Feb 24 at 6:43 pm

Lillian was another answer to a prayer of what her name should be. St. Joseph is very special to me and his flower is the Lily so that is a huge reason for her name. I didn’t know when I named her that my grandma had actually lost a sister named Lillian to the Spanish influenza. I also love old fashioned names and Lillian just was so beautiful to me.

Reply
Shannon Dec 21 at 1:22 pm

I love all three names
Liliana , Lillian,Lily
They are what we are looking for we are torn on which one
Middle name I am not sure about
Anna, Emily , Elizabeth, Elisabeth
My grandma doesn’t like anything other than Lily

Reply
- Lillian Apr 18 at 1:26 pm
  
  Omg my great grandmother’s name was Lillian my names Lillian my name is so special the lily flower is my name a princess was named Lillian I am just WOW.
  
  Reply
  - lillian Sep 15 at 10:08 am
    
    my name is lillian tooo wow omg
    
    Reply
    - lillian Sep 21 at 10:07 am
      
      i love the name lillian what are some things i cuold write about it
      
      Reply
Lillian Nov 29 at 2:32 pm

Wow! I love my name especially after my beloved mother told me that she was happy having such a beautiful lily in me. My birthday actually attracts a particular Christian name but mum wanted that beautiful lily flower out of me. Such a sweet name! Sometimes I nickname myself lily, other times Lillie but very happy with my name. Thank you mother

Reply
lisa Jul 28 at 7:36 am

Family name and we love the nickname Lilly

Reply
Sofia Jul 3 at 12:46 pm

I have a 4 yeras old girl ” Isabella Charlotte “.
Now I’m excpecting twins and want to name them
” William Arthur & Lillian Aurora “.
Cute <3<3

Reply
- Lillian Apr 18 at 1:28 pm
  
  Definitely ?
  
  Reply
  - Hannah Nov 30 at 11:37 am
    
    Klar,meine Freundin heisst so. 🙂
    
    Reply
- Marilene Jul 27 at 8:21 am
  
  OMG, my daughter is Lillian Aurora, for Lillian Gish and my Italian father’s strong oldest sister. At 31, she’s both old fashioned (writes letters in cursive) and a fearless trend setter. Good luck!
  
  Reply
- lillian Sep 21 at 10:08 am
  
  I think that’s a great idea
  
  Reply
Ashley Mar 30 at 2:52 pm

I love giving my girls names that they can have cute nicknames for when they are little and then as they get older they can grow into their full name.

Reply
- Lillian Apr 18 at 1:29 pm
  
  I love it
  
  Reply
Tracy Mar 17 at 12:12 pm

I had the name Lillian in mind from one of two of my parents spinster neighbors at their first house that they bought. The spinster sisters were a rare pair and we uses to visit them when I was young. When Lillian’s father asked if we could name her Lilly, without knowing my preference, it was set.

Reply
Amanda Feb 24 at 12:58 pm

I had twins and it would only allow me to enter 1 name. Lillian Joyce, Lillian was my mother’s favorite Grandma, and Joyce was my favorite Grandma that I loved so much and meant so much to me.
Her twin brother’s name is Kaleb Cecil, Kaleb a a name dad liked (we use almost every other family name with our other 3 boys) Cecil was my Great Grandpas name. He passed away when I was a baby and I am the only Great Grandchild he got to hold! ?

Reply
Kate Feb 11 at 9:36 pm

My husband wanted to name her Lilly! I liked the idea but wasn’t to keen on naming her after a flower so we look up the name Lillian & it the meaning is God is my vow. We thought it was so beautiful we went with it! And will call her Lilly or LJ for short!

Reply
Margaret Jun 28 at 1:09 am

I named my oldest daughter , Lillian and I nickname her Lili thirty ago. She was about 3- yr and she keep want Lilly instead of Lili.. But problem is that 4 girl name Lilly. Lily and Lillie and her teacher getting confused same girl’s name. Try to figure out and fixing. Lilly got home from school. I was disappointed but later on.. I accepted what she want to name until teenager. she dislike Lillian about ten year later, She decide to change her real names. she thought Lillian very ugly. I said No.. pretty name and she told her co worker.. everyone love her name Lillian.. she decide to keep her legal names.

Why I chosen her name.. I told her Our grandparent name Lillian after their relative names. I named her after My Aunt Lillian and I informed her that 200 same names in my dad’s parent’s side in North Dakota

I said About 200 names . not sure how many..

Reply
Amanda Apr 22 at 11:28 am

Lillian is a classic elegant name! We chose this name because it was a family members name. We call her Lillian or Lilly!

Reply
Natalie Apr 22 at 10:30 am

We first chose the nickname Lilly but the wanted a more formal/ professional name option for when she’s older. I initially picked Lilly because of the connection to nature. Overall, Lillian is pretty versatile!

Reply
Noeriin Mar 5 at 1:56 am

My Mums name means Lilly in her native language & my partners name is Ann.

Reply
Kelsie McElwain Feb 28 at 10:27 am

Lillian was my grandmother’s name while Torres, which is attached as a second middle name, is my mother’s maiden last name and is being passed on as a legacy

Reply
Jolene Feb 25 at 10:15 am

I chose Lillian because it was my Grandmother’s name. I am not a fan of “trendy” names, and wanted to name her something that would suit an adult as well. The nickname Lily is great for a little girl, and if she wants to be Lillian when she gets older she can!

Reply
- Shannon Dec 21 at 1:21 pm
  
  I love all three names
  Liliana , Lillian,Lily
  They are what we are looking for we are torn on which one
  Middle name I am not sure about
  Anna, Emily , Elizabeth, Elisabeth
  My grandma doesn’t like anything other than Lily
  
  Reply
Kelsie Feb 21 at 8:59 am

I always loved the name Lillian and it’s also a good way to honor my grandmother at the same time!

Reply
Hannah Feb 11 at 4:24 pm

Lillian is a family name on my side. I had two great grandmothers named Lillian, and my parents decided to make that my middle name.

Besides being a family name, I like that it’s traditional, but most people haven’t used it before.

Reply
Janna Watson Feb 10 at 1:03 am

I named my daughter Lillian ( nicknamed Lillie) mostly because it was my great grandma’s name and that it was close to the name I also liked Lila.

Reply
Lillian Jan 1 at 11:05 pm

I grew up not liking my name. No one I knew or met had the same name ask Mom why she named me Lillian. She said she knew one person in school who was named Lillian. It wasn’t a popular name. She liked it. I go by the name Lin now I actually like me my name.

Reply
Cindy Dec 23 at 12:03 pm

We chose Lillian because we really liked the nickname Lily.

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Ashley Nov 23 at 10:27 am

I chose Lillian because I always loved the name and I kinda got it from Rugrats because that was my favorite show as a kid. I like Lily as a nickname because I wouldnt want it for the actual name but I think it’s cute.

Reply
Leann Jun 8 at 12:39 pm

I met a very kind woman named Lily a couple years ago. It made an impression. I love the name. So when my husband & I rescued a baby kitten (2/2018) we named her Lily. When we found out we were having a baby girl I wondered if it would be weird to name our baby Lily. We named our baby Lillian & her nickname is Lily! Our cat is still named Lily but responds to multiple nicknames!

Reply
Rachel Apr 13 at 10:48 am

Originally, I had wanted to name my daughter Lily. It was a name that just kept coming to me over and over, but my husband wanted a longer version that we could shorten to Lily.

I fell in love with Liliana, but my husband wasn’t too keen on it. So when he suggested Lillian, I sat the name for a while and realized it fulfilled all my requirements: it’s beautiful, classic, feminine, can be nicknamed (Lily) and wasn’t too common.

Reply
- Margaret Jun 28 at 1:12 am
  
  Rachel, I like Liliana beautiful. Good excellent names!
  
  Reply
  - Margaret Dec 12 at 4:36 am
    
    Rachel, Lillian is now 34th out of 100 popular names!! Yayyahh!
    
    Reply

Lillian