Girls' name · peaked in 2007
Lilian name popularity since 1925
18,770 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Lilian. Half of them were born in 2009 or earlier, so the typical Lilian is about 17 years old in 2026. Lilian peaked in 2007 as the #417 name for girls, and it ranked #560 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 18,770
- Named Lilian, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #560
- for girls in 2025 (537 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 100.0% girls
- 18,770 girls · 0 boys
- Most popular in
- Arizona
- 1.93× its national share
Peak year is the year Lilian made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Lilian births per year, 1925–2025
2007 was the biggest year for Lilian both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1995 and 2000, Lilian became 2.1× more common, from 1 in 11,600 baby girls to 1 in 5,540.
Shaded on the chart. This compares Lilian's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Lilian.
Decade by decade
Babies named Lilian in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 165 | – |
| 1930s | 173 | #2,254 |
| 1940s | 154 | #3,029 |
| 1950s | 190 | #2,595 |
| 1960s | 315 | #2,186 |
| 1970s | 475 | #2,082 |
| 1980s | 717 | #1,735 |
| 1990s | 1,817 | #1,154 |
| 2000s | 5,783 | #474 |
| 2010s | 5,935 | #497 |
| 2020–25 | 3,046 | #560 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
45.4% of babies named Lilian from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen Z years (1997–2012). The full split by generation:
Where Lilian is most popular
The index compares Lilian's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Lilian.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 1.93× | 410 |
| California | 1.83× | 3,180 |
| Colorado | 1.48× | 300 |
| Texas | 1.43× | 1,835 |
| Washington | 1.42× | 389 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Lilian and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Lilian (this page) | 18,770 | 2007 |
| Lillian | 283,542 | 1898 |
| Lilyan | 3,065 | 1915 |
| Lilliann | 1,258 | 2009 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Lilian's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Lilian.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Lilian (2007).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data