Lile
A feminine variant form of Lillian in English.
Name Census estimates that about 46 living Americans carry the first name Lile. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 73.0% of registrations being female. The average person named Lile today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lile births was 1916 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lile. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Lile with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Lile. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
46
~ 1 in 7,451,181 Americans
Peak year
1916
15 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
1938 SSA rank
#3,821
Tracked since 1916
Census
Lile in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 257 people with the first name Lile, which placed it at #32,623 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#32,623
National first-name rank
People counted
257
257 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
54.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lile
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lile is White at 54.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (22.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (12.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Lile described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Lile at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White54.5% · 140
- Hispanic or Latino22.6% · 58
- Asian and Pacific Islander12.5% · 32
- Black or African American5.4% · 14
- Two or more races4.3% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Lile
Lile is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 115 total registrations, 31 (27.0%) were male and 84 (73.0%) were female.
Lile as a male name
- Ranked #3,821 in 1938
- 5 male births in 1938
- Peak: 1916 (8 births)
Lile as a female name
- Ranked #16,612 in 2024
- 5 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2020 (8 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Lile on both sides of the split. Of the 260 people counted with this name, 68 were male (26.2%) and 192 were female (73.8%).
Popularity
Lile: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lile from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 35 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Lile remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lile by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Lile during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Liles live
Origin
Meaning and history of Lile
The name Lile has its origins in the Old Norse language, where it was derived from the word "lilja," meaning "lily." This name was particularly popular among the Vikings and other Scandinavian peoples during the Middle Ages.
In ancient Norse mythology, the lily flower was associated with purity, beauty, and fertility. It was believed to hold symbolic power and was often used in rituals and celebrations. The name Lile, therefore, carried connotations of grace, elegance, and renewal.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Lile dates back to the 12th century, when it appeared in the Icelandic Sagas, a collection of stories and historical accounts from the Viking era. In these texts, Lile was often used as a feminine name, reflecting the reverence for the lily flower in Norse culture.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Lile. In the 14th century, Lile Thorvaldsdóttir (c. 1320 - 1390) was a renowned Icelandic poet and scholar, renowned for her contributions to Old Norse literature. Her work was instrumental in preserving the rich cultural heritage of the Vikings.
In the 16th century, Lile Eriksdotter (c. 1510 - 1580) was a Swedish noblewoman and landowner, known for her involvement in the Swedish Reformation and her support for the Protestant movement in Scandinavia.
Moving into the 19th century, Lile Stenbock (1835 - 1911) was a Swedish artist and painter, renowned for her vibrant landscapes and portraits. Her work was highly influential in the Swedish art scene of the time.
Another notable figure was Lile Poulsen (1890 - 1972), a Danish architect and designer who played a crucial role in the development of modern Danish design. Her work blended traditional Scandinavian aesthetics with contemporary influences.
In more recent times, Lile Baver (1925 - 2010) was a Norwegian author and children's book writer, whose works captured the imagination of generations of young readers. Her stories often drew inspiration from Norse folklore and mythology.
While the name Lile has its roots in ancient Scandinavian cultures, its enduring popularity and various spellings have allowed it to transcend geographical boundaries and cultural contexts, making it a timeless and meaningful choice for parents around the world.
People
Lile + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lile as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Lile: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lile?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 46 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lile going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 7,451,181 US residents.
Is Lile a common name?
We classify Lile as "Very Rare". It ranks above 53.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 115 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lile most popular?
The single biggest year for Lile was 1916, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lile is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lile in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 257 people with the name Lile, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,623 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Lile in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Lile?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Lile on both sides of the split. Of the 260 people counted with this name, 68 were male (26.2%) and 192 were female (73.8%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Lile?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lile is White at 54.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (22.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (12.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Lile most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Lile in the 2020 Census, accounting for 54.5% (140 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Lile in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lile a female name?
Yes, 73.0% of people registered as Lile in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Lile still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lile in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Lile can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Lile?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.