Lily
Girl name · #18 in 2025 · Very well-known
In 2025, 6,673 baby girls were named Lily, placing it at #18 in the official national rankings. A decade ago it stood at #25, so the name has been rising over the past ten years. Roughly one in every 270 girls born in 2025 was named Lily.
The 145-year story
Lily first appears in the Social Security records in 1880, when 41 girls received the name. Its peak came in 2011, when 8,192 girls were named Lily — good for #15 that year. Today's parents encounter it on its way down the popularity curve, which for many parents is exactly the appeal. Following the curve matters more than today's snapshot: a name's position on its rise-peak-decline arc is the best predictor of how common it will feel in a kindergarten class five years from now.
Babies named Lily per year. Source: SSA.
Unlock the 5-year forecast and compare Lily against up to 5 other names.
Uniqueness: will there be another Lily in class?
On our rarity read — which blends how common Lily is today with its five-year momentum — the name reads as "very well-known". A low score means broad familiarity: teachers will spell it right, and your child may share it with a classmate. For many families that's a feature, not a bug.
Where Lily is most common
Geography matters for names, and Lily is no exception. Adjusted for how many girls are born in each state, Lily is most common in HI (13 per 1,000), DC (12 per 1,000), VT (11 per 1,000), AK (11 per 1,000), NH (9.2 per 1,000) — against a national average of about 5.1 per 1,000 girls. These are per-capita rates, so they show where Lily is a genuine regional favorite rather than just where the most babies are born.
Nicknames & related forms of Lily
Lily belongs to the Lillian family — closely related nicknames and spellings of the same name.
Counted as one name, the Lillian family went to about 11,857 girls in 2025 — together they'd rank around #6, versus #18 for Lily alone.
Names like Lily
Statistically, parents drawn to Lily tend to be choosing among names with similar popularity arcs, era profiles, and sounds — the closest matches in our model are Lucy, Ella, Chloe, Avery, and Zoe.
LucyEllaChloeAveryZoeRileyLaylaAva
Rank history (last 25 years)
| Year | Babies named Lily | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 6,673 | #18 |
| 2024 | 6,121 | #24 |
| 2023 | 6,176 | #20 |
| 2022 | 6,012 | #30 |
| 2021 | 5,632 | #31 |
| 2020 | 5,258 | #35 |
| 2019 | 5,461 | #34 |
| 2018 | 5,753 | #31 |
| 2017 | 5,862 | #33 |
| 2016 | 6,610 | #24 |
| 2015 | 6,683 | #25 |
| 2014 | 6,789 | #27 |
| 2013 | 7,004 | #27 |
| 2012 | 7,970 | #16 |
| 2011 | 8,192 | #15 |
| 2010 | 7,992 | #17 |
| 2009 | 8,101 | #18 |
| 2008 | 8,128 | #24 |
| 2007 | 7,499 | #27 |
| 2006 | 6,768 | #33 |
| 2005 | 6,090 | #39 |
| 2004 | 5,402 | #53 |
| 2003 | 4,434 | #69 |
| 2002 | 3,834 | #79 |
| 2001 | 3,197 | #103 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Lily a popular girl name?
Lily ranked #18 among girls in 2025 with 6,673 babies given the name — firmly in the top 100, so yes, it’s a popular choice. Ten years earlier it ranked #25.
When was the name Lily most popular?
Lily peaked in 2011, when 8,192 American girls received the name (ranked #15 that year). Since 2011 the name has declined from that high.
How rare is the name Lily?
In 2025, roughly 1 in 270 newborn American girls was named Lily. On our rarity scale (rarity blended with momentum) we classify it as "very well-known".
Data source: U.S. Social Security Administration name statistics, 1880–2025, national and state files. Counts reflect Social Security card applications; names with fewer than 5 occurrences in a state-year are suppressed by the SSA.