Lili
A feminine name of German origin meaning "lily flower".
Name Census estimates that about 3,484 living Americans carry the first name Lili. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lili today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lili births was 2003 (139 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lili. 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 Lili with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
3.5K
~ 1 in 98,380 Americans
Peak year
2003
139 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,028
Tracked since 1912
Census
Lili in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 8,870 people with the first name Lili, which placed it at #2,657 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
#2,657
National first-name rank
People counted
8.9K
8,870 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
35.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lili
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lili is Asian/Pacific Islander at 35.4%. The next largest groups are White (33.4%) and Hispanic (24.9%). 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 Lili 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 Lili at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander35.4% · 3,144
- White33.4% · 2,962
- Hispanic or Latino24.9% · 2,213
- Two or more races3.6% · 318
- Black or African American2.2% · 199
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 34
Popularity
Lili: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lili from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 1,098 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lili 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 Lili during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lilis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 19 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Lili, while Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Missouri recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 74 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lili
The name Lili has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture. It is a diminutive form of the name Lilith, which was derived from the Sumerian lil, meaning "wind" or "air." In Hebrew mythology, Lilith was a female demon who was said to be the first wife of Adam before Eve.
The name Lili gained popularity in Europe during the Middle Ages, particularly in France and Germany. It was often used as a pet form of the names Elizabeth or Lilian. The earliest recorded use of the name Lili dates back to the 13th century in France.
One of the earliest notable figures with the name Lili was Lili'uokalani, who was the last monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii. She reigned from 1891 to 1893 and was known for her efforts to preserve Hawaiian culture and sovereignty.
In the world of literature, Lili Boulanger was a French composer and the first woman to win the prestigious Prix de Rome composition prize in 1913. She was a influential figure in the early 20th century classical music scene.
Another notable Lili was Lili St. Cyr, an American burlesque dancer and stripper who was famous in the 1940s and 1950s. She was known for her elegant and sophisticated stage performances and was often referred to as the "Queen of Burlesque."
In the realm of cinema, Lili Damita was a French-American actress who appeared in several Hollywood films during the 1920s and 1930s. She was known for her roles in movies such as "The Cock-Eyed World" (1929) and "This is the Night" (1932).
Lili Reinhart is a contemporary American actress and author, best known for her role as Betty Cooper in the popular television series "Riverdale." She has also published a collection of poetry and has been an advocate for mental health awareness.
Throughout history, the name Lili has been associated with various cultural and artistic figures, spanning different time periods and regions. Its unique and melodic sound has contributed to its enduring appeal as a given name.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Lili
People
Lili + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lili 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
Lili: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lili?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,484 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lili 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 98,380 US residents.
Is Lili a common name?
We classify Lili as "Rare". It ranks above 95.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,800 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lili most popular?
The single biggest year for Lili was 2003, when 139 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lili 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 Lili in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 8,870 people with the name Lili, or 2.94 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,657 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 Lili 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 Lili?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lili leans strongly female. 8,779 people counted with this name were female (99.0%), compared with 91 male bearers (1.0%). 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 Lili?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lili is Asian/Pacific Islander at 35.4%. The next largest groups are White (33.4%) and Hispanic (24.9%). 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 Lili most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Lili in the 2020 Census, accounting for 35.4% (3,144 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 Lili in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lili a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lili 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 Lili still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lili 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 Lili 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 share the name Lili?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.