Lucilla
A feminine diminutive form of Lucia, meaning "light" or "bringer of light".
Name Census estimates that about 518 living Americans carry the first name Lucilla. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lucilla today is around 43 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lucilla births was 1955 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lucilla. 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
518
~ 1 in 661,688 Americans
Peak year
1955
19 babies that year
Average age
43
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,277
Tracked since 1898
Popularity
Lucilla: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lucilla from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 132 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Lucilla remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lucilla 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 Lucilla during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lucillas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Lucilla
The name Lucilla has its origins in the Latin language. It is the feminine form of the Roman family name Lucillus, which is a diminutive of the Roman name Lucius. Lucius is derived from the Latin word "lux," meaning light or brightness.
In ancient Roman culture, the name Lucilla was relatively common among women from noble families. It first appeared in historical records around the 1st century AD. One of the earliest notable bearers of the name was Lucilla, the daughter of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius and his wife Faustina the Younger. She lived from 148 to 182 AD.
Another prominent Lucilla in Roman history was the wife of the Roman Emperor Lucius Verus, who ruled from 161 to 169 AD. This Lucilla was known for her involvement in political intrigues and her alleged role in a failed conspiracy against her brother, the Emperor Commodus.
During the Byzantine Empire, the name Lucilla continued to be used, although less frequently than in earlier Roman times. One example is Lucilla of Byzantium, who lived in the 5th century AD and was the wife of the Eastern Roman Emperor Anthemius.
In the Middle Ages, the name Lucilla fell out of widespread use but was occasionally revived in certain regions of Europe. For instance, there was a Lucilla of Merania, a 13th-century German noblewoman who was the wife of King Philip II of France.
As the Renaissance period began, the name Lucilla experienced a modest resurgence in popularity, particularly in Italy. One notable bearer from this era was Lucilla Galerana Baglioni, an Italian noblewoman who lived in the 16th century and was known for her patronage of the arts and her involvement in the political affairs of Perugia.
In more recent times, the name Lucilla has remained relatively uncommon in most parts of the world, though it has occasionally been used as a feminine form of the male name Lucian or Lucio. However, its historical significance and connection to ancient Roman culture have ensured that the name has endured, albeit in a limited capacity.
People
Lucilla + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lucilla 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
Lucilla: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lucilla?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 518 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lucilla 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 661,688 US residents.
Is Lucilla a common name?
We classify Lucilla as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 946 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lucilla most popular?
The single biggest year for Lucilla was 1955, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lucilla is about 43 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Lucilla a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lucilla 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.