Head to head · Girls' names
Leilani vs Lillian
#60 vs #57 in 2025
Lillian is a whisker ahead (#57 vs #60 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Lillian is stepping back from its peak, Leilani is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Leilani has the edge.
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, Lillian leads 5 measures of 6; Leilani 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: Leilani —, Lillian #27 — Lillian higher
- 1890s: Leilani —, Lillian #15 — Lillian higher
- 1900s: Leilani —, Lillian #12 — Lillian higher
- 1910s: Leilani #4423, Lillian #15 — Lillian higher
- 1920s: Leilani #3736, Lillian #26 — Lillian higher
- 1930s: Leilani #2295, Lillian #66 — Lillian higher
- 1940s: Leilani #892, Lillian #124 — Lillian higher
- 1950s: Leilani #1198, Lillian #192 — Lillian higher
- 1960s: Leilani #1068, Lillian #273 — Lillian higher
- 1970s: Leilani #984, Lillian #408 — Lillian higher
- 1980s: Leilani #960, Lillian #417 — Lillian higher
- 1990s: Leilani #949, Lillian #279 — Lillian higher
- 2000s: Leilani #359, Lillian #65 — Lillian higher
- 2010s: Leilani #188, Lillian #27 — Lillian higher
- 2020s: Leilani #68, Lillian #52 — Lillian higher
Lillian stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Leilani | Lillian |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #27 |
| 1890s | — | #15 |
| 1900s | — | #12 |
| 1910s | #4423 | #15 |
| 1920s | #3736 | #26 |
| 1930s | #2295 | #66 |
| 1940s | #892 | #124 |
| 1950s | #1198 | #192 |
| 1960s | #1068 | #273 |
| 1970s | #984 | #408 |
| 1980s | #960 | #417 |
| 1990s | #949 | #279 |
| 2000s | #359 | #65 |
| 2010s | #188 | #27 |
| 2020s | #68 | #52 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Leilani
Not charting outside the US.
Lillian
- Canada#96
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Leilani
Heavenly flowers, or royal child
Both readings come from the same two words. Lei is a garland or wreath of flowers, and by affection a beloved child; lani means sky or heaven, and also royal or chiefly. So the name is read as 'heavenly lei' and as 'royal child' depending on which sense of each word is carried forward. Hawaiian speakers use both, and neither is a correction of the other.
How it traveled
The name belongs to the Hawaiian language, where lani appears in a great many names and titles and lei in as many more, so Leilani sits inside a large and living naming tradition rather than standing alone. It reached the continental United States in the early twentieth century, in the decades when Hawaiian music, hula troupes and the steel guitar were touring mainland theaters and Hawaii itself was a US territory; statehood followed in 1959.
Lillian
lily
The name is generally derived from the flower, though it may equally have begun as a pet form of Elizabeth that was later reinterpreted as a flower name. Both accounts have support. The flower's own name comes into English from Latin and further back from a Mediterranean source, and the reading is straightforward whichever route the personal name took.
A Mediterranean flower carried north by cultivation → The standard symbol of purity in European art → Lily and Lilian as English names → Lillian, with the consonant doubled, in heavy American use
How it traveled
The plant was cultivated in Crete four thousand years ago, appears on Minoan frescoes, was grown by the Romans, and traveled across Europe in monastery gardens because it was needed for religious painting and for medicine. By the medieval period it was the standard attribute of the Virgin and of a long list of saints, and any painter needing to signal purity reached for it.
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
Leilani
lay-LAH-nee
Stress falls on the second syllable. The Hawaiian 'ei' is the vowel of 'day', not 'ee', so the first syllable is 'lay' rather than 'lee' — the most frequent slip is LEE-lah-nee. Every vowel is pronounced; nothing is swallowed.
- Lani — The most common short form, and a full given name in Hawaiian in its own right.
- Lei — Informal, used within families; also stands alone as a Hawaiian name.
- Leila — Occasionally used as a short form in English-speaking families, though Leila is separately an established name of Arabic and Persian origin.
Lillian
LIL-ee-un
Three syllables, stress on the first. The doubled l does the English job of keeping the vowel before it short; with a single l the first syllable would run long and the name would be a different sound.
- Lily — The flower itself, and now a more fashionable name than the longer form.
- Lil — Flat and warm, and shared with a piece of current slang.
- Ann — The back read as a name, which is complete and has its own long history.
Who has carried each name
Leilani
No documented entry for Leilani yet.
Lillian
Lillian Gish (b. 1893) — The "First Lady of American Cinema"
Lillian Gilbreth (b. 1878) — Pioneering engineer — and the real mom of Cheaper by the Dozen
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 Leilani if you want…
- a name on the way upup 32 places on the charts in five years
- a newer arrivalLeilani entered the US charts in 1917
- a name that feels very nowLeilani is climbing the charts fast
Choose Lillian if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsLillian is stepping back from its peak
- a name that charts abroad tooLillian is on the national lists of Canada
- a long American recordLillian was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 12% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 54% for Leilani
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
Leilani
Strengths
- The meaning is transparent to Hawaiian speakers rather than reconstructed from guesswork — lei and lani are both everyday words.
- Spelled the way it sounds once the 'ei' is known, with no silent letters and no competing standard spelling.
- Two established short forms, Lani and Lei, both of which also work as names on their own.
To consider
- The 'ei' trips people. Expect LEE-lah-nee from strangers and a lifetime of gently correcting it, plus Leilany, Leylani and Lelani turning up in spelling.
- It is a Hawaiian name with real cultural weight behind it, and some Native Hawaiian families feel strongly about its use off the islands. Worth knowing you're carrying that, whatever you decide.
- The name is on the way up, not the way down, so a child born now will likely meet more Leilanis in later school years than the current picture suggests.
Lillian
Strengths
- It is completely familiar, universally spellable and needs no explaining.
- Lily is available inside it and is one of the most fashionable short names anywhere.
- It has been in continuous use for well over a century without ever sounding dated.
To consider
- Lilian with one l is the older spelling and both are standard.
- It is currently very popular again, which is a consideration in a classroom.
- The spelling is on the register for boys as well, in very small numbers.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Leilani
54%chance Leilani feels dated by 2040
Leilani 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.
Lillian
12%chance Lillian feels dated by 2040
Lillian has held the top-100 across 9 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
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 Leilani and Lillian in full.
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Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Leilani and Lillian?
Put both to the vote.
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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 Leilani and Lillian — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Leilani or Lillian — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Leilani or Lillian?
- Lillian, in 2025: Lillian ranked #57 with 3,966 babies; Leilani ranked #60 with 3,792 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Leilani or Lillian?
- Leilani. Over the last five years Leilani moved up 32 places; Lillian moved down 11 places.
- Which is the older name, Leilani or Lillian?
- Leilani entered the US charts in 1917; Lillian was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Lillian is the older name.
- How many people are named Leilani and Lillian?
- About 55,000 people named Leilani are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 209,000 people named Lillian are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Leilanis or Lillians in the classroom?
- Leilani will almost certainly be the only one in school. Lillian 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
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