Head to head · Girls' names
Camila vs Lily
#19 vs #18 in 2025
Lily is a whisker ahead (#18 vs #19 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Lily is climbing the charts fast, Camila is stepping back from its peak.
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, Lily leads 5 measures of 6; Camila leads 1.
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: Camila —, Lily #236 — Lily higher
- 1890s: Camila —, Lily #280 — Lily higher
- 1900s: Camila —, Lily #326 — Lily higher
- 1910s: Camila #3402, Lily #325 — Lily higher
- 1920s: Camila #3875, Lily #345 — Lily higher
- 1930s: Camila #4090, Lily #444 — Lily higher
- 1940s: Camila #3979, Lily #632 — Lily higher
- 1950s: Camila #4649, Lily #797 — Lily higher
- 1960s: Camila #4164, Lily #989 — Lily higher
- 1970s: Camila #4077, Lily #1032 — Lily higher
- 1980s: Camila #3185, Lily #692 — Lily higher
- 1990s: Camila #1303, Lily #352 — Lily higher
- 2000s: Camila #295, Lily #57 — Lily higher
- 2010s: Camila #37, Lily #25 — Lily higher
- 2020s: Camila #13, Lily #26 — Camila higher
Lily stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Camila took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Camila | Lily |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #236 |
| 1890s | — | #280 |
| 1900s | — | #326 |
| 1910s | #3402 | #325 |
| 1920s | #3875 | #345 |
| 1930s | #4090 | #444 |
| 1940s | #3979 | #632 |
| 1950s | #4649 | #797 |
| 1960s | #4164 | #989 |
| 1970s | #4077 | #1032 |
| 1980s | #3185 | #692 |
| 1990s | #1303 | #352 |
| 2000s | #295 | #57 |
| 2010s | #37 | #25 |
| 2020s | #13 | #26 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Camila
Not charting outside the US.
Lily
- England & Wales#3
- Scotland#8
- Canada#9
- France#70
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Camila
From Latin camillus/camilla, a young attendant at a religious ceremony
The Latin word camilla — a child who assisted a priest at sacrifices — is well documented, and most reference works read the name straight from it. Where the Latin word itself came from is not settled; a number of scholars trace it to Etruscan, the language Rome borrowed many names from, in which case the original sense is lost. Both readings are respectable, and neither can be proved out.
Camillus → Camilla → Camila
How it traveled
The name begins as a Roman cognomen, Camillus for men and Camilla for women, carried by one of the old patrician families of the Republic. Virgil's Aeneid, written in the first century BC, fixed Camilla in the literary memory of Europe, and the name survived through medieval and Catholic Italy, where Camilla with two l's is still standard.
Lily
The lily flower, from Latin lilium
The Latin lilium reached English as the flower name lily, and the given name comes directly from it. Lily also works as a short form of Lilian, Lillian and Liliana, so some bearers arrive at it from that side rather than from the flower.
Lilium → Lilie → Lilian → Lily
How it traveled
The flower word came into English from Latin lilium, itself connected to Greek leirion, and for centuries it was a plant, not a person. The lily carried heavy symbolic freight in medieval and Renaissance Europe — the white Madonna lily of Christian art, the stylized fleur-de-lis of the French crown — which kept the word in constant view.
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
Camila
kuh-MEE-luh
In Spanish, kah-MEE-lah, with all three vowels fully sounded. Both are widely used in the United States and neither needs correcting. The Italian Camilla differs: there the stress sits on -MIL- with a doubled l.
- Cami — The most common short form in English and Spanish alike; also spelled Cammy or Camy.
- Mila — Taken from the second half of the name; also a full given name in its own right, and currently common as one.
- Cam — Clipped and informal, more often heard from friends and teammates than from family.
- Camilita — Spanish diminutive, used affectionately within families rather than in writing.
- Also Cami-Cam.
Lily
LIL-ee
Stress on the first syllable. The pronunciation is the same in American and British English, and speakers of most languages manage it without instruction.
- Lil — The long-established informal short form, used within families and among friends.
- Lils — A casual modern shortening, mostly used by peers rather than adults.
- Lily — Stands fully on its own as a given name, and also serves as the standard short form of Lilian, Lillian and Liliana.
Who has carried each name
Camila
Camila Cabello (b. 1997) — Pop star whose "Havana" topped charts worldwide
Camila Mendes (b. 1994) — Riverdale's Veronica Lodge
Lily
Lily Collins (b. 1989) — Star of Emily in Paris, daughter of Phil Collins
Lily Tomlin (b. 1939) — Comedy trailblazer with Tonys, Emmys, and a Grammy
Lily James (b. 1989) — Played Cinderella in Disney's live-action remake
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Camila if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsCamila is stepping back from its peak
- a name with more sound in itCamila runs 3 syllables, Lily 2
- plenty of nickname options5 recorded short forms — Cami, Mila and Cam
- a newer arrivalCamila entered the US charts in 1914
Choose Lily if you want…
- a name on the way upup 17 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesLily is 2 syllables to Camila's 3
- a name that charts abroad tooLily is on the national lists of England & Wales, Scotland, Canada and France
- a long American recordLily 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
Camila
Strengths
- Recognized on sight across Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and English, with a matching form in most of Europe — useful in a bilingual family.
- A documented record stretching from Roman family names through Virgil to the present day, with no gap in use.
- Established short forms already in circulation: Cami, Mila, Cam, and the Spanish Camilita.
To consider
- The double-l Camilla is the older English and Italian spelling, so expect a spare l to be added by people writing it from hearing it.
- Its rise here is recent and steep, which means it currently reads as a name of children rather than of adults — that will even out as this generation grows.
- Mila and Cami are both popular in their own right, so the nickname may be shared in a classroom even when the full name is not.
Lily
Strengths
- Needs no spelling out in the English-speaking world: the flower is the word, so most people write it correctly on the first hearing.
- Recognized across borders — it charts in Britain, Scotland, Canada and France, and has close cousins in Italian, Russian and Scandinavian.
- Two short syllables that a toddler can pronounce, and that survive being shouted across a playground.
To consider
- The spelling competes with Lilly and Lillie, and with Lila, Lilah and Lyla nearby in sound. Expect the occasional correction, and expect similar names in the same room.
- It has been climbing steadily rather than fading, so a Lily is likely to meet other girls with the same name or a near-match at some point.
- The short form Lil is also a familiar prefix in hip-hop stage names, which some children find funny for a while.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Camila
83%chance Camila feels dated by 2040
Camila is coming down from a big peak (#11 in 2020). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
Lily
67%chance Lily feels dated by 2040
Lily is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
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 Camila and Lily 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 Camila and Lily?
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 than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Camila and Lily — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Camila or Lily — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Camila or Lily?
- Lily, in 2025: Lily ranked #18 with 6,673 babies; Camila ranked #19 with 6,591 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Camila or Lily?
- Lily. Over the last five years Camila moved down 8 places; Lily moved up 17 places.
- Which is the older name, Camila or Lily?
- Camila entered the US charts in 1914; Lily was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Lily is the older name.
- How many people are named Camila and Lily?
- About 123,000 people named Camila are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 177,000 people named Lily are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Camilas or Lilys in the classroom?
- Roughly 1 in 10 classrooms will have a child named Camila. Roughly 1 in 10 classrooms will have a child named Lily.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Camila, Lily and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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