Given name & surname
Lily
Lily is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “resembling the flower; one who is innocent and beautiful.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “resembling the flower; one who is innocent and beautiful.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
How it developed
In English usage, Lily is a diminutive of Elizabeth. In English usage, Lily is a diminutive 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, Lily is a diminutive 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
Lily through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 189,789
- 145 boys · 189,644 girls
- Most popular year
- 2011
- 8,199 babies
- 2025
- 6,673
- #18 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +6%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 6,673 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 18 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 5.8% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 8,192 in 2011. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (748). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 155,678 as a first name in 2020; 468 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.
Lily’s family of names
In English usage, Lily is a diminutive of Elizabeth. Lily has a related form in Lillie. In English usage, Lily has a conventional equivalent in the Spanish form Lilia.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Lily has relatives in 17 languages. Lines run from its English roots to each of them.
Nicknames & forms 24
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 21
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 2
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Lily
- Lily AllenBritish singer and actressborn 1985
- Lily CollinsBritish-American actress (born 1989)
- Lily TomlinAmerican actressborn 1939
- Lily JamesBritish actress (born 1989)
- Lily RabeAmerican actress (born 1982)
- Lilya Brikmuse of Vladimir Mayakovsky1891–1978
- Lily GladstoneAmerican actress (born 1986)
- Lily ColeEnglish model and actress (born 1987)
- Lily AldridgeAmerican modelborn 1985
Characters named Lily: Lily Aldrin (the television series How I Met Your Mother).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Lily, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Sadie
“princess; lady” · “princess”
>99% girls
Elisa
“my God is bountiful” · “God is my oath”
>99% girls
Kinsley
“from the king 's meadow”
>99% girls
Audrey
“noble” · “strength”
>99% girls
Presley
“of the priest's town” · “from the priest's meadow”
7% boys · 93% girls
Stella
“star of the sea”
>99% girls
Marley
“from the meadow near the lake”
13% boys · 87% girls
Marlee
“of the marshy meadow”
2% boys · 98% girls