Head to head · Girls' names
Faith vs Lilly
#254 vs #252 in 2025
Lilly is a whisker ahead (#252 vs #254 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Lilly is holding its place on the charts, Faith 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
The tape is even: Faith and Lilly 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: Faith #766, Lilly #216 — Lilly higher
- 1890s: Faith #636, Lilly #260 — Lilly higher
- 1900s: Faith #671, Lilly #288 — Lilly higher
- 1910s: Faith #593, Lilly #354 — Lilly higher
- 1920s: Faith #479, Lilly #392 — Lilly higher
- 1930s: Faith #360, Lilly #461 — Faith higher
- 1940s: Faith #340, Lilly #612 — Faith higher
- 1950s: Faith #330, Lilly #801 — Faith higher
- 1960s: Faith #357, Lilly #1018 — Faith higher
- 1970s: Faith #356, Lilly #1610 — Faith higher
- 1980s: Faith #359, Lilly #1705 — Faith higher
- 1990s: Faith #189, Lilly #1043 — Faith higher
- 2000s: Faith #62, Lilly #233 — Faith higher
- 2010s: Faith #94, Lilly #135 — Faith higher
- 2020s: Faith #204, Lilly #241 — Faith higher
Faith stood higher in 10 of 15 decades; Faith has held the lead since the 1930s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Faith | Lilly |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #766 | #216 |
| 1890s | #636 | #260 |
| 1900s | #671 | #288 |
| 1910s | #593 | #354 |
| 1920s | #479 | #392 |
| 1930s | #360 | #461 |
| 1940s | #340 | #612 |
| 1950s | #330 | #801 |
| 1960s | #357 | #1018 |
| 1970s | #356 | #1610 |
| 1980s | #359 | #1705 |
| 1990s | #189 | #1043 |
| 2000s | #62 | #233 |
| 2010s | #94 | #135 |
| 2020s | #204 | #241 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Faith
Not charting outside the US.
Lilly
- Scotland#83
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Faith
faith, trust, belief
From Latin fides, 'trust', by way of Old French and Middle English.
Fides → Foy → feith → Faith
How it traveled
The word came into English from Old French feid, itself from Latin fides, 'trust'. In Roman religion Fides was the personified virtue of good faith, and the same root produced the name of Saint Faith — Sainte Foy — a martyr of Agen honored at the abbey of Conques, a major stop on the medieval pilgrim roads.
Lilly
The lily flower
The word reached English as Latin lilium, which the Romans took from Greek leirion. Lilly also works as a short form of Elizabeth and of Lillian, so a child called Lilly may be arriving by either road — the flower or the abbreviation.
leirion → lilium → lilie → Lily → Lilly
How it traveled
The lily was a name for the flower in English long before it was a name for a person: Old English took lilie straight from Latin lilium. As a personal name it grew from two directions at once — as an affectionate clipping of Elizabeth and Lillian, in use for centuries, and as one of the flower names English speakers adopted with real enthusiasm in the nineteenth century, alongside Rose, Violet and Daisy.
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
Faith
FAYTH
One syllable, exactly as the English word. The same across American and British English, and it survives being said quickly.
- Faye — Informal short form, though it also stands alone as a given name in its own right.
- Faithy — Affectionate family form, mostly used with young children.
- Fifi — Playful household nickname; rare, and almost never used outside the family.
Lilly
LIL-ee
Stress on the first syllable. Lilly, Lily and Lillie all sound identical, so the spelling is the only thing that distinguishes them out loud.
- Lil — The standard informal clip, used within families and among friends; rarely a legal name on its own.
- Lils — Casual, mostly peer-to-peer and in text messages.
- Lilly-Bee — A household-only compound of the kind the L sound invites; not used outside the family.
- Lillian — Works in reverse — some families register the long form and use Lilly every day.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Faith if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsFaith is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesFaith is 1 syllable to Lilly's 2
- a name that feels very nowFaith is stepping back from its peak
Choose Lilly if you want…
- a name with more sound in itLilly runs 2 syllables, Faith 1
- a name that charts abroad tooLilly is on the national lists of Scotland
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 40% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 75% for Faith
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
Faith
Strengths
- Spelling and pronunciation follow each other perfectly — anyone who hears it can write it, and anyone who reads it can say it.
- In continuous English use since the Reformation era, so it has never needed a revival to sound normal.
- The same Latin root gives Fe in Spanish and Portuguese, widely used in Spain, Latin America and the Philippines.
To consider
- It is also a common English word, and in most American contexts a religious one. Some people will read it as a statement about the family's beliefs, which may or may not be what you want.
- Very short, with no long formal version to grow into and no real nickname to retreat to — a Faith is Faith at three and at fifty.
- Its bearers cluster heavily in one young-adult generation, so among adults it can read as belonging to a particular cohort, even while it is uncommon in classrooms now.
Lilly
Strengths
- Instantly readable and instantly pronounceable in English — nobody has to be taught how to say it.
- A long unbroken record on US charts, without ever having been the name everyone in the room had.
- Recognized across German, Scandinavian and other European naming traditions in almost this exact form.
To consider
- Lily is the more familiar spelling in the US, so Lilly will be written the other way on forms, name tags and greetings fairly often. Most families settle into correcting it once and letting the rest go.
- The sound is more common than this particular spelling. Lila, Lilah, Lillian and Lily all circulate, so a Lilly may share a playground with near-twins even while being the only Lilly.
- Lilly is also a well-known American surname and pharmaceutical company name, which occasionally comes up in adult professional settings — a passing remark rather than a real obstacle.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Faith
75%chance Faith feels dated by 2040
Faith is coming down from a big peak (#48 in 2002). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
Lilly
40%chance Lilly feels dated by 2040
Lilly sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
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 Faith and Lilly 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 Faith and Lilly?
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
- Beloved classics quietly disappearing
- Virtue names, from Grace to Justice
- One-syllable names: said in a single beat
- Names that begin and end with the same letter
- all guides
Where Faith and Lilly each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Faith or Lilly — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Faith or Lilly?
- Lilly, in 2025: Lilly ranked #252 with 1,218 babies; Faith ranked #254 with 1,212 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Faith or Lilly?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Faith moved down 120 places; Lilly moved down 23 places.
- Which is the older name, Faith or Lilly?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Faith and Lilly?
- About 137,000 people named Faith are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 55,500 people named Lilly are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Faiths or Lillys in the classroom?
- Faith will almost certainly be the only one in school. Lilly will almost certainly be the only one in school.
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
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