Head to head · Girls' names
Aliza vs Lillie
#675 vs #675 in 2025 · both holding its place on the charts
Aliza and Lillie share the same spot on the 2025 charts (#675). The records cannot split them; sound and story will.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Lillie leads 4 measures of 6; Aliza leads 0.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Aliza —, Lillie #38 — Lillie higher
- 1890s: Aliza —, Lillie #41 — Lillie higher
- 1900s: Aliza —, Lillie #49 — Lillie higher
- 1910s: Aliza —, Lillie #75 — Lillie higher
- 1920s: Aliza —, Lillie #95 — Lillie higher
- 1930s: Aliza —, Lillie #121 — Lillie higher
- 1940s: Aliza —, Lillie #168 — Lillie higher
- 1950s: Aliza #4867, Lillie #280 — Lillie higher
- 1960s: Aliza #2970, Lillie #510 — Lillie higher
- 1970s: Aliza #2015, Lillie #988 — Lillie higher
- 1980s: Aliza #1707, Lillie #1328 — Lillie higher
- 1990s: Aliza #1381, Lillie #1185 — Lillie higher
- 2000s: Aliza #833, Lillie #573 — Lillie higher
- 2010s: Aliza #780, Lillie #559 — Lillie higher
- 2020s: Aliza #682, Lillie #719 — Aliza higher
Lillie stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Aliza took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Aliza | Lillie |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #38 |
| 1890s | — | #41 |
| 1900s | — | #49 |
| 1910s | — | #75 |
| 1920s | — | #95 |
| 1930s | — | #121 |
| 1940s | — | #168 |
| 1950s | #4867 | #280 |
| 1960s | #2970 | #510 |
| 1970s | #2015 | #988 |
| 1980s | #1707 | #1328 |
| 1990s | #1381 | #1185 |
| 2000s | #833 | #573 |
| 2010s | #780 | #559 |
| 2020s | #682 | #719 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Aliza
joyful, merry (Hebrew)
In Hebrew, aliza (עַלִיזָה) is a real adjective meaning cheerful or merry, from the root ʿ-l-z, "to rejoice," which appears in the Hebrew Bible. That reading is solid for the Hebrew name. But the same spelling in English is also used as a variant of Alisa or Alyssa, which run back through Alice to a Germanic root meaning "noble" — so which meaning a given Aliza carries depends on which road her family came by.
ʿalaz (Hebrew verb, to rejoice) → aliz → Aliza
How it traveled
The Hebrew adjective aliz, feminine aliza, means merry or joyful, and its root turns up in the Psalms in verbs of rejoicing. As modern Hebrew was revived and everyday words were pressed into service as given names, Aliza became a standard Israeli name and traveled with Jewish families to English-speaking countries.
Lillie
The lily
The word is the flower's, from Latin, and it reached English very early — lilies were grown in monastery gardens and the word is one of the oldest plant borrowings in the language. Some bearers of this spelling come from Lillian instead, which is a separate name with a separate history.
Lilium → Lily → Lillie
How it traveled
Consider the lilies of the field: the line is famous and the flower is doubtful. Botanists who have looked at what actually grows wild in that landscape have proposed anemones, crocuses, poppies, irises and the common field flowers that come up in spring after rain — anything but the white garden lily that European painters put into the pictures.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Aliza
ah-LEE-zah
Many American speakers say uh-LEE-zuh, which is the same name with softer vowels. Israeli Hebrew puts the stress on the last syllable: ah-lee-ZAH. All three are heard and none is wrong.
- Ali — The everyday short form; also stands alone as a given name for both girls and boys.
- Liza — Informal, and a full given name in its own right through Elizabeth.
- Lizzie — Family and playground use rather than anything written down.
- Zaza — A household nickname, used mostly with young children.
Lillie
LIL-ee
Two syllables, stress at the front. The doubled l keeps the vowel before it short, which is the one thing the spelling is doing.
- Lil — The name without its ending, brisk and durable.
- Lily — The commoner spelling of the same name, used interchangeably.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Aliza if you want…
- a name holding steadyAliza is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itAliza runs 3 syllables, Lillie 2
- plenty of nickname options4 recorded short forms — Ali, Liza and Lizzie
- a newer arrivalAliza entered the US charts in 1952
Choose Lillie if you want…
- a name on the way upup 43 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesLillie is 2 syllables to Aliza's 3
- a long American recordLillie was already in use when US records began in 1880
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Aliza
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds — a listener who hears it can usually write it, once they know it isn't Eliza.
- Two ready-made short forms, Ali and Liza, both of which work as standalone names.
- Travels across Hebrew, English and Urdu-speaking communities without changing shape.
To consider
- It lives next door to Eliza, Alisa, Aliyah and Alyssa, so expect a lifetime of gentle corrections — the spelling will need repeating, and people will occasionally default to Eliza.
- Two common pronunciations circulate, ah-LEE-zah and uh-LEE-zuh, plus the Hebrew final-syllable stress. Worth deciding which one your family uses, because she will be introducing herself with it.
- She is unlikely to share the name with a classmate. That means no last-initial problem, and also that the name will need spelling out more often than a Sarah ever would.
Lillie
Strengths
- The word behind it is concrete, familiar and entirely pleasant.
- It is short and easy for a small child to say about herself.
- It is both a vintage name and a current one, which very few manage.
To consider
- Lily and Lilly are both commoner and hers will be written as one of them.
- The spelling is recorded for boys as well, though it belongs overwhelmingly to the girls.
- The flower is heavily associated with funerals in some countries, which is worth knowing.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Aliza and Lillie in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Aliza and Lillie?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Names with a Z in them
- The names with the most spellings
- Names that belong entirely to the 1880s
- all guides
Where Aliza and Lillie each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Aliza or Lillie — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Aliza or Lillie?
- They tie in 2025: Aliza ranked #675 with 420 babies; Lillie ranked #675 with 420 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Aliza or Lillie?
- Lillie. Over the last five years Aliza moved down 6 places; Lillie moved up 43 places.
- Which is the older name, Aliza or Lillie?
- Aliza entered the US charts in 1952; Lillie was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Lillie is the older name.
- How many people are named Aliza and Lillie?
- About 12,000 people named Aliza are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 44,000 people named Lillie are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Alizas or Lillies in the classroom?
- Aliza will almost certainly be the only one in school. Lillie will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
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