Head to head · Girls' names
Emmy vs Lilliana
#445 vs #445 in 2025
Emmy and Lilliana share the same spot on the 2025 charts (#445). 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
The tape is even: Emmy and Lilliana each lead 2 measures of 6.
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: Emmy #970, Lilliana — — Emmy higher
- 1890s: Emmy #1285, Lilliana — — Emmy higher
- 1900s: Emmy #1519, Lilliana — — Emmy higher
- 1910s: Emmy #1817, Lilliana — — Emmy higher
- 1920s: Emmy #1470, Lilliana — — Emmy higher
- 1930s: Emmy #1823, Lilliana — — Emmy higher
- 1940s: Emmy #2065, Lilliana — — Emmy higher
- 1950s: Emmy #2326, Lilliana #5180 — Emmy higher
- 1960s: Emmy #3322, Lilliana #5139 — Emmy higher
- 1970s: Emmy #2369, Lilliana #3276 — Emmy higher
- 1980s: Emmy #2186, Lilliana #2324 — Emmy higher
- 1990s: Emmy #2439, Lilliana #1792 — Lilliana higher
- 2000s: Emmy #1340, Lilliana #628 — Lilliana higher
- 2010s: Emmy #663, Lilliana #293 — Lilliana higher
- 2020s: Emmy #494, Lilliana #385 — Lilliana higher
Emmy stood higher in 11 of 15 decades; Lilliana has held the lead since the 1990s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Emmy | Lilliana |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #970 | — |
| 1890s | #1285 | — |
| 1900s | #1519 | — |
| 1910s | #1817 | — |
| 1920s | #1470 | — |
| 1930s | #1823 | — |
| 1940s | #2065 | — |
| 1950s | #2326 | #5180 |
| 1960s | #3322 | #5139 |
| 1970s | #2369 | #3276 |
| 1980s | #2186 | #2324 |
| 1990s | #2439 | #1792 |
| 2000s | #1340 | #628 |
| 2010s | #663 | #293 |
| 2020s | #494 | #385 |
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
Emmy
A short form of Emma or Emily, so the meaning depends on which one it comes from
Through Emma it reaches the Germanic element ermen or irmin, meaning whole or universal — the same piece found in old names like Ermengarde. Through Emily it reaches the Roman family name Aemilius, whose own root is unsettled; it is often linked to Latin aemulus, rival or one who strives to match. Both roads are entirely respectable, and Emmy has been used for both for centuries.
ermen / irmin (Germanic element) → Ermengarde → Emma → Emmy
How it traveled
Emmy began as a spoken shortening rather than a written name. Emma arrived in England with the Normans in the eleventh century and never really left; Emily came separately from the Roman name Aemilia and rose in English use from the eighteenth century onward.
Lilliana
lily
The root is Latin lilium, the lily. A second strand feeds the same cluster: Lilian began in medieval England as a pet form of Elizabeth before it was read as a flower name, and Liliana is usually treated as its Latinate elaboration.
lilium → Lilia → Lilian → Liliana → Lilliana
How it traveled
The lily gave Europe a whole family of names: Latin lilium became Italian and Spanish lilia and English lily, a flower carried through medieval and Renaissance Christian art as an emblem of purity. Lilian appeared in England as an affectionate form of Elizabeth, and by the time flower names came into fashion it was heard simply as the lily.
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
Emmy
EM-ee
Stress on the first syllable. The same in German, Dutch and Swedish, so it survives a border crossing intact. Spelling is the only wobble: Emmi, Emmie and Emme all sound identical.
- Em — The standard further shortening, used the same way for Emma, Emily and Emmeline; informal, family and friends.
- Ems — Casual, more common among schoolmates and siblings than adults.
- Emmers — Playful household form; rarely used outside the family.
- Emmy Lou — A compound used in the American South, sometimes as a double given name rather than a nickname.
Lilliana
lil-ee-AH-nuh
Four syllables, stress on the third. Some American families say lil-ee-AN-uh, with the flatter middle vowel of Lillian; both are in ordinary use and neither needs correcting.
- Lily — The most common short form, and a long-established given name in its own right.
- Lilly — Informal, matching the double l of the full spelling; also used as a standalone name.
- Lili — Informal; the usual short form in Italian and Spanish-speaking families.
- Ana — Takes the second half instead of the first; a full given name across Spanish and Portuguese.
- Also Lia, Lil.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Emmy if you want…
- a name on the way upup 72 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesEmmy is 2 syllables to Lilliana's 4
Choose Lilliana if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsLilliana is stepping back from its peak
- a name with more sound in itLilliana runs 4 syllables, Emmy 2
- plenty of nickname options6 recorded short forms — Lily, Lilly and Lili
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
Emmy
Strengths
- Already the affectionate form, so there is no gap between the formal name and the one used at home — nothing has to be shortened or explained.
- Instantly readable and sayable on first hearing anywhere in the English-speaking world, and pronounced the same in German, Dutch and Scandinavian use.
- Works as the everyday name for Emmeline, Emma or Emily if you want a longer version on the birth certificate and Emmy in daily life.
To consider
- The Emmy Awards will come up. The trophy took its name from immy, the nickname for the image orthicon tube used in early television cameras, so the link is to broadcasting equipment rather than to the given name — but expect the joke anyway.
- It reads as a diminutive to some ears, which can matter in formal or professional contexts later. Parents who want a fallback often register Emmeline, Emma or Emily and use Emmy from the start.
- Emma and Emily are both heavily represented in the same age group, so an Emmy may be turning around a lot in a room without anyone actually calling her.
Lilliana
Strengths
- Every part of the spelling is already familiar in English — Lillian and Ana — so most people can read it aloud on first sight.
- Comes with several ready-made short forms, and Lily, Lilly and Ana each stand alone as complete names.
- The Liliana form is current in Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian, so it travels without needing translation.
To consider
- Liliana, Lilianna, Lillianna and Lilliana all exist and all sound alike, so this exact spelling will need saying out loud fairly often — and the four-syllable length means a good deal of it gets written on forms.
- The exact spelling is uncommon, but the sound is not: a classroom may well hold a Lily, a Lila or a Liliana, so the name may be shared by ear even when it is not shared on paper.
- Its rise in the United States is recent, so the name currently belongs mostly to children and young people rather than to adults — something that simply changes as those children grow.
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 Emmy and Lilliana 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 Emmy and Lilliana?
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.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap
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 these names appear on
- Four-syllable names that carry
- Eight-letter names with presence
- Names far more common than their rank admits
- all guides
Where Emmy and Lilliana each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Emmy or Lilliana — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Emmy or Lilliana?
- They tie in 2025: Emmy ranked #445 with 695 babies; Lilliana ranked #445 with 695 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Emmy or Lilliana?
- Emmy. Over the last five years Emmy moved up 72 places; Lilliana moved down 102 places.
- Which is the older name, Emmy or Lilliana?
- Emmy entered the US charts in 1885; Lilliana entered the US charts in 1955. On the American record, Emmy is the older name.
- How many people are named Emmy and Lilliana?
- About 12,000 people named Emmy are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 22,500 people named Lilliana are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Emmys or Lillianas in the classroom?
- Emmy will almost certainly be the only one in school. Lilliana 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
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Emmy, Lilliana and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap