Tilly
Girl name · #886 in 2025 · Rare
In 2025, 302 baby girls were named Tilly, placing it at #886 in the official national rankings. A decade ago it stood at #2236, so the name has been rising over the past ten years. Roughly one in every 5,960 girls born in 2025 was named Tilly.
The 113-year story
Tilly first appears in the Social Security records in 1912, when 5 girls received the name. Its all-time peak is essentially right now: 2025, with 302 babies and a rank of #884. Names at their peak can keep climbing — or be one trend cycle from the long slide that eventually hits most popular names. 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 Tilly per year. Source: SSA.
Unlock the 5-year forecast and compare Tilly against up to 5 other names.
Uniqueness: will there be another Tilly in class?
On our rarity read — which blends how common Tilly is today with its five-year momentum — the name reads as "rare". A high score means genuine rarity — your Tilly will likely be the only one in the room, with the occasional spelling-out as the price.
Where Tilly is most common
Geography matters for names, and Tilly is no exception. Adjusted for how many girls are born in each state, Tilly is most common in OR (1 per 1,000), KY (0.8 per 1,000), TN (0.7 per 1,000), MO (0.5 per 1,000), GA (0.4 per 1,000) — against a national average of about 0.2 per 1,000 girls. These are per-capita rates, so they show where Tilly is a genuine regional favorite rather than just where the most babies are born.
Nicknames & related forms of Tilly
Tilly belongs to the Matilda family — closely related nicknames and spellings of the same name.
Counted as one name, the Matilda family went to about 1,389 girls in 2025 — together they'd rank around #221, versus #886 for Tilly alone.
Names like Tilly
Statistically, parents drawn to Tilly tend to be choosing among names with similar popularity arcs, era profiles, and sounds — the closest matches in our model are Maisy, Wrenly, Waverly, Ripley, and Truly.
MaisyWrenlyWaverlyRipleyTrulyMillyIndyNashly
Rank history (last 25 years)
| Year | Babies named Tilly | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 302 | #884 |
| 2024 | 274 | #952 |
| 2023 | 242 | #1043 |
| 2022 | 250 | #1026 |
| 2021 | 218 | #1129 |
| 2020 | 166 | #1327 |
| 2019 | 170 | #1340 |
| 2018 | 129 | #1640 |
| 2017 | 110 | #1854 |
| 2016 | 83 | #2287 |
| 2015 | 84 | #2236 |
| 2014 | 69 | #2560 |
| 2013 | 64 | #2706 |
| 2012 | 68 | #2632 |
| 2011 | 51 | #3222 |
| 2010 | 44 | #3572 |
| 2009 | 41 | #3800 |
| 2008 | 28 | #5142 |
| 2007 | 31 | #4675 |
| 2006 | 17 | #7142 |
| 2005 | 14 | #7891 |
| 2004 | 13 | #8259 |
| 2003 | 14 | #7580 |
| 2002 | 9 | #10246 |
| 2001 | 12 | #8196 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Tilly a popular girl name?
Tilly ranked #886 among girls in 2025 with 302 babies given the name — outside the top 500, making it an uncommon pick. Ten years earlier it ranked #2236.
When was the name Tilly most popular?
Tilly peaked in 2025, when 302 American girls received the name (ranked #884 that year). That peak is current — the name is at or near its all-time high right now.
How rare is the name Tilly?
In 2025, roughly 1 in 5,960 newborn American girls was named Tilly. On our rarity scale (rarity blended with momentum) we classify it as "rare".
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.