Lively
A name derived from an English adjective indicating vibrancy and energy.
Name Census estimates that about 562 living Americans carry the first name Lively. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lively today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lively births was 2024 (74 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lively. 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.
People living today
562
~ 1 in 609,883 Americans
Peak year
2024
74 babies that year
Average age
6
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,444
Tracked since 2012
Popularity
Lively: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lively from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 338 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lively 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 Lively during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Livelys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Texas, California, Georgia recorded the most babies named Lively, while North Carolina, Florida, Arizona recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 28 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lively
The name Lively originated from the Old English word "liflic," which means "lively" or "full of life." This adjective was derived from the Old English word "lif," meaning "life." The name Lively first emerged in England during the Anglo-Saxon period, roughly between the 5th and 11th centuries.
Lively was initially used as a descriptive surname or byname, given to individuals who exhibited a vibrant or energetic personality. It was later adopted as a given name, particularly during the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance period in England.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Lively can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings and properties in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The entry mentions a person named "Liflic" holding land in Oxfordshire.
In the 14th century, the name Lively appeared in the writings of the renowned English poet Geoffrey Chaucer, who mentioned a character named "Lively" in his famous work, The Canterbury Tales.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Lively. One of the earliest was Lively Denny (1496-1567), an English merchant and philanthropist from Hertfordshire, who founded a school and almshouses in his hometown.
Another famous bearer of the name was Sir Lively Culme (1612-1680), an English politician and Member of Parliament for Devon during the reign of Charles II.
In the 18th century, Lively Sutton (1722-1785) was a notable English architect and surveyor, best known for his work on the redesign of the town of Warrington in Cheshire.
Moving into the 19th century, Lively Polhill (1818-1893) was a British diplomat and author, serving as the British Consul in various parts of the Ottoman Empire and writing several books on his travels and experiences.
More recently, Lively Holroyd (1926-2010) was a British actress and stage performer, known for her roles in productions such as "The Importance of Being Earnest" and "The Merchant of Venice."
While the name Lively has declined in popularity in recent times, it remains a unique and descriptive name with a rich history rooted in the English language and culture.
People
Lively + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lively 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
Lively: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lively?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 562 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lively 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 609,883 US residents.
Is Lively a common name?
We classify Lively as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 566 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lively most popular?
The single biggest year for Lively was 2024, when 74 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lively is about 6 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Lively a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lively 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.
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.