How Many People Are Named Lily?
An estimated 168,479 people in the United States have the first name Lily. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #325 overall. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 16 years old, and Lily peaked in popularity in 2011 with 8,199 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Lily 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 Lily paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Lily is overwhelmingly female, 145 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- Lily is a modern name. With an average bearer age of just 16, it has gained most of its popularity in recent years.
Estimated Living Americans
168,479
About 1 in 2,034 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Common
Predicted Gender
Female
99.9% confidence
Average Age
16
years old
Peak Year
2011
8,199 births
Total Registered
183,046
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Lily
Lily is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 183,046 total births registered, 99.9% were female.
Lily as a male name
Ranked #13,287 in 2020
5 male births in 2020
Peak: 2004 (21 births)
Lily as a female name
Ranked #24 in 2024
6,093 female births in 2024
Peak: 2011 (8,192 births)
Lily: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Lily span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 2010s, when 68,345 babies were registered. While Lily is less common than at its peak in the 2010s, it remains a well-established name with steady registrations.
Lily by Decade
How has Lily 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 | 680 | 0 | 680 | |
| 1890s | 979 | 0 | 979 | |
| 1900s | 1,045 | 0 | 1,045 | |
| 1910s | 2,795 | 0 | 2,795 | |
| 1920s | 3,762 | 5 | 3,757 | |
| 1930s | 2,234 | 5 | 2,229 | |
| 1940s | 1,511 | 0 | 1,511 | |
| 1950s | 1,426 | 0 | 1,426 | |
| 1960s | 1,148 | 0 | 1,148 | |
| 1970s | 1,219 | 0 | 1,219 | |
| 1980s | 2,715 | 6 | 2,709 | |
| 1990s | 9,771 | 0 | 9,771 | |
| 2000s | 56,261 | 77 | 56,184 | |
| 2010s | 68,345 | 47 | 68,298 | |
| 2020s | 29,155 | 5 | 29,150 | |
Lily by State
Birth registrations for Lily span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Texas, New York. The lowest are in Wyoming, Vermont, District of Columbia. On average, about 3,445 Lilys were registered per state.
Lily + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Lily as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Lily
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
Lily: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lily?
We estimate approximately 168,479 people named Lily 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 2,034 Americans share this first name.
Is Lily a common name?
Lily is classified as "Common" and is more popular than 99.7% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 183,046 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Lily most popular?
Lily reached peak popularity in 2011, when 8,199 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Lily is approximately 16 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Lily a female name?
Lily is predominantly female. 99.9% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Lily Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Lily Smith, Lily Johnson, Lily 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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