How Many People Are Named Lillian?
An estimated 193,349 people in the United States have the first name Lillian. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #280 overall. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 29 years old, and Lillian peaked in popularity in 1920 with 10,075 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Lillian as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Lillian paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Lillian is overwhelmingly female, 1,429 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
193,349
About 1 in 1,773 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Common
Predicted Gender
Female
99.7% confidence
Average Age
29
years old
Peak Year
1920
10,075 births
Total Registered
472,453
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Lillian
Lillian is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 472,453 total births registered, 99.7% were female.
Lillian as a male name
Ranked #13,286 in 2020
5 male births in 2020
Peak: 1928 (46 births)
Lillian as a female name
Ranked #54 in 2024
3,882 female births in 2024
Peak: 1920 (10,049 births)
Lillian: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Lillian span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 83,491 babies were registered. Lillian has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Lillian by Decade
How has Lillian tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 11,308 | 38 | 11,270 | |
| 1890s | 24,210 | 104 | 24,106 | |
| 1900s | 32,646 | 127 | 32,519 | |
| 1910s | 76,158 | 244 | 75,914 | |
| 1920s | 83,491 | 332 | 83,159 | |
| 1930s | 37,618 | 225 | 37,393 | |
| 1940s | 22,404 | 90 | 22,314 | |
| 1950s | 16,559 | 51 | 16,508 | |
| 1960s | 10,664 | 57 | 10,607 | |
| 1970s | 5,378 | 15 | 5,363 | |
| 1980s | 5,403 | 14 | 5,389 | |
| 1990s | 11,242 | 13 | 11,229 | |
| 2000s | 49,465 | 73 | 49,392 | |
| 2010s | 64,989 | 41 | 64,948 | |
| 2020s | 20,918 | 5 | 20,913 | |
Lillian by State
Birth registrations for Lillian span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, Pennsylvania, Texas. The lowest are in Wyoming, Alaska, Nevada. On average, about 7,867 Lillians were registered per state.
Lillian + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Lillian as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Lillian
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
Lillian: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lillian?
We estimate approximately 193,349 people named Lillian are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 1,773 Americans share this first name.
Is Lillian a common name?
Lillian is classified as "Common" and is more popular than 99.7% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 472,453 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Lillian most popular?
Lillian reached peak popularity in 1920, when 10,075 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Lillian is approximately 29 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Lillian a female name?
Lillian is predominantly female. 99.7% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Lillian Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Lillian Smith, Lillian Johnson, Lillian Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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