Lyllian
An English feminine name derived from the flower name lily.
Name Census estimates that about 612 living Americans carry the first name Lyllian. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lyllian today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lyllian births was 2009 (45 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lyllian. 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
612
~ 1 in 560,056 Americans
Peak year
2009
45 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2023 SSA rank
#12,920
Tracked since 1923
Census
Lyllian in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 508 people with the first name Lyllian, which placed it at #20,360 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
#20,360
National first-name rank
People counted
508
508 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
70.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lyllian
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lyllian is White at 70.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.6%) and Two or More Races (7.7%). 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 Lyllian 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 Lyllian at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.5% · 358
- Hispanic or Latino15.6% · 79
- Two or more races7.7% · 39
- Black or African American3.9% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 5
Popularity
Lyllian: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lyllian from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 304 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lyllian 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 Lyllian during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lyllians live
Origin
Meaning and history of Lyllian
The name Lyllian is a variant spelling of the feminine given name Lillian, which has its origins in the Latin name Lillia. Lillia derives from the classical Latin word for lily, "lilium." The lily flower has long been associated with purity, innocence, and renewal, making it a popular namesake in many cultures.
In its earliest form, the name Lillia emerged during the Middle Ages in parts of Europe influenced by Latin culture and the Catholic Church. As a given name, it gained popularity among Christians as a symbolic representation of the Virgin Mary's purity and innocence. The variant spellings, such as Lyllian, arose as the name spread to different regions and languages.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lyllian can be found in the medieval English text "The Canterbury Tales" by Geoffrey Chaucer, written in the late 14th century. In the "Prioress's Tale," a young martyr is referred to as "Litel Lyllian." This early literary reference suggests the name was in use in England during the Middle Ages.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Lyllian or its variants. One of the earliest known was Lyllian Vaughan (c. 1500-1573), a Welsh noblewoman and lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth I of England. Another early figure was Lyllian Leggat (1565-1623), a Scottish poet and writer known for her religious works.
In the 19th century, Lyllian Bayly (1822-1889) was a British novelist and travel writer, known for her book "Ragged Life in Egypt." Additionally, Lyllian Elwyn (1875-1944) was an American artist and illustrator, renowned for her children's book illustrations and magazine covers.
During the 20th century, Lyllian Dickson (1901-1983) was a prominent Australian singer and actress, who performed extensively on stage and radio. Another notable figure was Lyllian Dornaga (1925-2015), a Filipino writer and poet, celebrated for her contributions to Philippine literature.
These examples highlight the historical use and prominence of the name Lyllian across various cultures and time periods, showcasing its enduring appeal as a feminine given name with roots in the symbolism of the lily flower.
People
Lyllian + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lyllian 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
Lyllian: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lyllian?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 612 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lyllian 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 560,056 US residents.
Is Lyllian a common name?
We classify Lyllian as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 630 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lyllian most popular?
The single biggest year for Lyllian was 2009, when 45 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lyllian is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lyllian in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 508 people with the name Lyllian, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,360 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 Lyllian 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 Lyllian?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lyllian appears almost entirely female. Of the 511 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Lyllian?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lyllian is White at 70.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.6%) and Two or More Races (7.7%). 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 Lyllian most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Lyllian in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.5% (358 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 Lyllian in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lyllian a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lyllian 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 Lyllian still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lyllian 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 Lyllian 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 Lyllian?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Lyllian at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.