Lily has been holding steady in the top 50 baby names in the U.S. for more than 15 years. Per the Social Security Administration, its peak popularity came in 2011, when it ranked 15th (alongside other classic favorites like Natalie and Grace). In the 2021 rankings, it stands at #31. Before 2000, though, it wasn’t an especially popular name; in the early 1970s, it barely cracked the top 1,000. It started making leaps and bounds through the following decades, advancing into the top 500 by 1992. In the early 2000s, as name trends adopted an emphasis on the natural world (think River, Jade, and Autumn), Lily became an obvious choice.  The name is likely to grow in popularity even more after the birth of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s daughter on June 4, 2021. Lilibet Diana, who is eighth in line to the English throne, will be called Lili. Charlotte, the name of Lili’s cousin Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, rose in the ranks from #9 in 2015 (the year the princess was born) to #4 in 2020.

Name Variations 

There are many adaptations of the name Lily, as well as many translations of the name in several other languages.

LiliLilianLilianaLilithLillianLillieLillyLilie (German)Lilia (Polish)Lilja (Finnish)

Similar Names 

Other girl names that start with L:

LaurenLeahLindsayLisbethLolaLorelaiLouiseLucyLuluLydia

Other girl names representing flowers:

DaisyIvyIrisJasmineMagnoliaMarigoldPoppyRoseViolet

Suggested Sibling Names

AvaGraceDanielJacobLukeMatthew SarahEmmaJackNathanJoseph

Famous People Named Lily

Considering how simply sweet the name Lily is, it’s no surprise that there are several famous people with the moniker. It is a little surprising how many of them are actresses or, in some cases, well-loved fictional characters. Famous Lilys:

Lili (Lilibet) Mountbatten-Windsor, daughter of Prince Harry and Meghan MarkleLily Tomlin, American actressLily Allen, British singerLily Bart, fictional character in Edith Wharton’s “The House of Mirth"Lily James, British actressLily Pritchett-Tucker, fictional character on American TV series “Modern Family"Lily Collins, British-American actress and daughter of singer Phil CollinsLily Rabe, American actressLily Aldrin, fictional character on American TV series “How I Met Your Mother”

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