How common is the name Lillian?

182,256 people in the United States have the first name Lillian, about 1 in 1,657. It ranks #306 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

LILLIAN

#306

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
182,256
About
1 in 1,657
This common or more
49.4%
Who bears it

Of the 182,256 people named Lillian, 71.7% reported their origin as White, 11.8% as Hispanic or Latino and 8% as Black. Virtually all are female (99.9%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Lillian peaked in 1920, when 10,075 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18802025
Peak year
1920
Births that year
10,075
In 2025*
3,966 ▼61%
Recorded as
almost entirely female

At least 476,457 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Lillian by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1900s, when it ranked #20. The largest share of babies named Lillian, 37%, were born between 1901 and 1927, the Greatest Generation's birth years.

1880s#4311,308
1890s#2424,210
1900s#2032,646
1910s#2976,158
1920s#5183,492
1930s#11337,616
1940s#24422,405
1950s#37016,560
1960s#50410,663
1970s#7395,379
1980s#7715,404
1990s#51211,242
2000s#14549,466
2010s#8965,001
2020s#13824,907
Before 19018.2%
Greatest Generation 1901–2737%
Silent Generation 1928–4513.4%
Baby boom 1946–646.5%
Generation X 1965–802.1%
Millennials 1981–962.3%
Generation Z 1997–1215.9%
2013 and later14.4%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Lillian is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Lillian has been most common in Rhode Island (1.6×), Vermont (1.6×), and New Hampshire (1.6×), and least common in California (0.46×).

405,247 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Either side of Lillian

#304 Johnny · 183,104#305 Holly · 182,754#307 Joanne · 181,755#308 Jared · 180,306

Spelled almost the same

8 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Lillian, most common first.

#695 Liliana · 74,435#1,257 Lilian · 29,757#1,810 Lilliana · 16,364#4,119 Lillianna · 4,670#6,763 Lilyan · 2,334#6,785 Liliane · 2,324#6,983 Lillyana · 2,232#7,340 Lilliam · 2,086

Also a last name

As a last name, Lillian ranks #69,166 of 156,621, with 306 people. See Lillian as a last name

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