Lillye
A feminine diminutive form of the French name Lili, itself a pet form of Elisabeth.
Name Census estimates that about 1 living Americans carry the first name Lillye. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lillye today is around 148 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lillye births was 1920 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lillye. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Lillye is about 148 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Lillyes were born before 1888.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Lillye. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
1
~ 1 in 342,754,338 Americans
Peak year
1920
8 babies that year
Average age
148
years old
1933 SSA rank
#4,581
Tracked since 1898
Popularity
Lillye: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lillye from the 1890s through to the 1930s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 22 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1910s peak, Lillye remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lillye 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 Lillye during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lillye
The name Lillye is a feminine given name of English origin, derived from the flower name "lily". It has its roots in the Old English word "lilie", which was borrowed from the Latin "lilium". The lily flower has long been associated with purity, innocence, and beauty in various cultures and religious traditions.
Lillye can be considered a variant spelling of the more common name Lily, with the addition of the letter "e" at the end. This spelling variation likely emerged in the late Middle Ages or the early modern period, as English spelling conventions were still evolving and regional variations were common.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lillye can be found in the parish records of St. Giles Cripplegate, London, where a girl named Lillye Wollerton was baptized in 1595. This suggests that the variant spelling was in use by the late 16th century in England.
In the 17th century, a notable figure named Lillye Butler (1600-1661) was a prominent English Puritan and religious writer. She authored several works, including "Memoirs of the Life and Travel of Mrs. Lillye Butler" and "Correspondence of Lillye Butler", which provide insights into the life and beliefs of Puritan women during that era.
Another historical figure with the name Lillye was Lillye Jacobson (1865-1949), a Norwegian-American educator and suffragist. She played a significant role in advocating for women's rights and ensuring educational opportunities for immigrant children in the United States.
In the realm of literature, Lillye Devereux Blake (1833-1913) was an American writer and activist who authored several novels and short stories, including "Rockford; or, Sunny Memories of an Active Life" and "A Sheltered Life". She was also involved in various social reform movements of her time.
Lillye Merrill Moulton (1872-1952) was an American artist and painter known for her impressionist landscapes and still-life works. Her paintings were exhibited in prestigious venues, including the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in 1915 and the Art Institute of Chicago.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Lillye. While not as common as its variant Lily, the name Lillye has been used across various periods and cultures, often associated with themes of purity, beauty, and literary or artistic expression.
People
Lillye + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lillye 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
Lillye: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lillye?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lillye 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 342,754,338 US residents.
Is Lillye a common name?
We classify Lillye as "Very Rare". It ranks above 3.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 60 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lillye most popular?
The single biggest year for Lillye was 1920, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lillye is about 148 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Lillye in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lillye a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lillye 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 Lillye still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lillye 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 Lillye 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Lillye?
See how many Americans are named Lillye on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.