Given name & surname
Lillian
“resembling the lily”
Lillian is used as a given name and a surname. One Latin interpretation is “resembling the lily.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Latin interpretation is “resembling the lily.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Latin.
How it developed
In English use, Lillian is used as a spelling variant of Lilian.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. In English use, Lillian is an affectionate form of Elizabeth. The history of Elizabeth gives this family its wider story. The New Testament Elisabeth is the mother of John the Baptist. English royal associations include Elizabeth I and, in the twentieth century, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon and her daughter Elizabeth II. Elizabeth’s familiar forms developed along several paths, including Eliza, Beth, Bess, Betty, Libby and Lizzie.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Lillian through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 476,457
- 1,429 boys · 475,028 girls
- Most popular year
- 1920
- 10,075 babies
- 2025
- 3,966
- #57 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −27%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 3,966 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 57 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 26.6% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 10,049 in 1920. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (309). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 182,256 as a first name in 2020; 306 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Lillian’s family of names
In English usage, Lillian is an affectionate form of Elizabeth. In Danish usage, Lillian has a conventional equivalent in the Spanish form Liliana. Lillian has a related form in Liliana.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Lillian has relatives in 5 languages. Lines run from its Latin roots to each of them.
10 related names in 5 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 27
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Elizabethfull form · English
- Lilianavariant · Spanish
- Lillypet form · Norwegian, Danish
- Lillianavariant
- Lilianvariant · English, German
- Lilliepet form · English
- Liliannavariant
- Lilliannavariant
Show 19 moreShow fewer
- Lilyannvariant
- Lilliannvariant · Norwegian
- Lilyanvariant
- Lilliannevariant · Norwegian
- Lillyannevariant
- Lilianevariant
- Liliannevariant
- Liliannvariant · Norwegian
- Lillyanvariant
- Lillianevariant
- Liliasvariant
- Lillshort form · Norwegian
- Lildiminutive · English
- Lillisvariant
- Lilliasvariant
- Lilasvariant
- Lilllianlikely variant
- Lilisvariant
- Lillasvariant
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Lillian
- Lillian GishAmerican actor, actress, motion picture producers and director, screenwriter1893–1993
- Lillian HellmanAmerican dramatist and screenwriter (1905-1984)
- Lillian Moller GilbrethAmerican psychologist and industrial engineer (1878–1972)
- Lillian WaldAmerican nurse and activist (1867–1940)
- Lillian CopelandAmerican athletics competitor (born 1904)
- Lillian AsplundOne of the last three living survivors:RMS Titanic on April 15, 19121906–2006
- Lillian RothAmerican actress, singer (1910-1980)
- Lillian NgoyiSouth African anti-apartheid activist (1911–1980)
- The Fabulous MoolahAmerican professional wrestler1923–2007
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
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