Head to head · Girls' names
Lilian vs Lina
#560 vs #572 in 2025
Lilian is a whisker ahead (#560 vs #572 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Lilian is holding its place on the charts, Lina is back after a long quiet spell. On momentum, Lina 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, Lilian leads 3 measures of 6; Lina leads 2.
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: Lilian #445, Lina #295 — Lina higher
- 1890s: Lilian #556, Lina #373 — Lina higher
- 1900s: Lilian #677, Lina #471 — Lina higher
- 1910s: Lilian #750, Lina #619 — Lina higher
- 1920s: Lilian #1235, Lina #726 — Lina higher
- 1930s: Lilian #2097, Lina #821 — Lina higher
- 1940s: Lilian #2418, Lina #1010 — Lina higher
- 1950s: Lilian #2649, Lina #1169 — Lina higher
- 1960s: Lilian #2169, Lina #1144 — Lina higher
- 1970s: Lilian #1922, Lina #1138 — Lina higher
- 1980s: Lilian #1685, Lina #1076 — Lina higher
- 1990s: Lilian #1065, Lina #1075 — Lilian higher
- 2000s: Lilian #527, Lina #974 — Lilian higher
- 2010s: Lilian #523, Lina #802 — Lilian higher
- 2020s: Lilian #591, Lina #611 — Lilian higher
Lina stood higher in 11 of 15 decades; Lilian has held the lead since the 1990s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Lilian | Lina |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #445 | #295 |
| 1890s | #556 | #373 |
| 1900s | #677 | #471 |
| 1910s | #750 | #619 |
| 1920s | #1235 | #726 |
| 1930s | #2097 | #821 |
| 1940s | #2418 | #1010 |
| 1950s | #2649 | #1169 |
| 1960s | #2169 | #1144 |
| 1970s | #1922 | #1138 |
| 1980s | #1685 | #1076 |
| 1990s | #1065 | #1075 |
| 2000s | #527 | #974 |
| 2010s | #523 | #802 |
| 2020s | #591 | #611 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Lilian
Not charting outside the US.
Lina
- France#17
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Lilian
Either "lily" or a pet form of Elizabeth, depending on which line you follow
Two roads meet at this spelling. The older one runs through Elizabeth: English records from the sixteenth century onward use Lilian and Lillian as familiar forms of that name, alongside Lisbet, Libby and Lily. The other runs through the flower — Latin lilium, the lily, long a symbol of purity in Christian art — which is how most parents read the name today. Both are genuine; neither cancels the other.
Elisabeth → Elizabeth → Lily → Lilian
How it traveled
The name grew up in England as a household nickname. Elizabeth was overwhelmingly common there, and it splintered into dozens of pet forms — Lily among them, and from Lily, Lilian.
Lina
Two roads: the ending of names like Carolina, Angelina and Adelina, cut loose; and an Arabic name from a word for softness, used for a young palm tree
The European Lina is a clipping — the final syllables of Latin-derived names in ‑lina, used so long on their own that they became a name in their own right. That path carries no meaning beyond its parent name's. The Arabic لينا comes from the root for soft or tender; līna is also a word for a kind of palm, which appears in the Qur'an (59:5). Both are genuine, and a given Lina may come from either.
Carolina, Adelina, Angelina → Lina
How it traveled
The ‑lina ending belongs to a long family of Latin names — Carolina, Adelina, Paulina, Evelina — and in Italy, Germany and Scandinavia the habit of shortening them to the last two syllables goes back centuries. By the nineteenth century Lina was being registered as a full given name in its own right across German- and Italian-speaking Europe, and it traveled to the United States with those families.
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
Lilian
LIL-ee-un
Stress on the first syllable. Some families say it in two beats, LIL-yun; both are ordinary and neither needs correcting.
- Lily — The most used short form, and a very well established given name on its own — which means a Lilian who goes by Lily is often assumed to be a Lily.
- Lil — Informal, family-and-friends register; long attested for Lilian and Lillian alike.
- Lilli — Informal, and standard as an independent name in German-speaking countries.
- Ana — Used mainly by speakers of the Liliana form rather than of Lilian itself.
Lina
LEE-nuh
LEE-nuh is the standard reading in English, Arabic, German, Italian and Spanish alike. Where the name is taken as a short form of Carolina, some English speakers say LY-nuh, so it is worth deciding early which one you will correct people to.
- Lin — Informal clipping; also used as a standalone name in its own right, particularly in Chinese contexts where it is unrelated.
- Linny — Affectionate family form, mostly used with young children.
- Li — Very short informal address within families; rarely written.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Lilian if you want…
- a name most people already know#560 in 2025, 537 babies that year
- a name holding steadyLilian is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itLilian runs 3 syllables, Lina 2
Choose Lina if you want…
- a name fewer children share#572 in 2025 — lina will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name on the way upup 118 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesLina is 2 syllables to Lilian's 3
- a name that charts abroad tooLina is on the national lists of France
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
Lilian
Strengths
- The short form Lily is already familiar everywhere, so no explaining is needed — it comes with the name rather than having to be invented.
- Documented in English since the sixteenth century and in continuous use since, without a period of disuse to explain away.
- Recognizable across languages through Liliana, Liliane and Lilianna, which helps in bilingual families.
To consider
- Lillian, with two Ls, is far more common in the United States. Expect the doubled spelling to be the default guess on forms, emails and class lists, and expect to correct it politely for life.
- Lily is extremely popular as a standalone name, so a Lilian who uses the short form may effectively be one of several Lilys in a room even while remaining the only Lilian.
- In French, Lilian is a masculine given name and Liliane the feminine one — worth knowing if the family has French-speaking connections, though in the US the spelling reads as a girl's name without hesitation.
Lina
Strengths
- Four letters, two syllables, and read the same way in Arabic, German, Italian, Spanish and Swedish — it crosses borders without changing shape.
- Complete on its own, but it also works as the everyday form of Carolina, Angelina or Adelina if you want a longer name on the certificate.
- Familiar in sound without being crowded — a child is unlikely to share it in a classroom.
To consider
- Lena, Leena, Lyna and Lina all circulate, and so do two pronunciations. Expect a lifetime of small corrections — a friendly one, but constant.
- On the phone it is easily heard as Nina, Lena or Tina. Spelling it out becomes routine.
- It is very short, which reads well beside a longer surname and can feel clipped beside a one-syllable one. Worth saying the full name aloud a few times.
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 Lilian and Lina 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 Lilian and Lina?
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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
- Victorian names ready for a second century
- Quiet perennials: a century old, never popular
- Names far more common than their rank admits
- Grandmother-chic: 1920s names ready to return
- all guides
Where Lilian and Lina each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Lilian or Lina — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Lilian or Lina?
- Lilian, in 2025: Lilian ranked #560 with 537 babies; Lina ranked #572 with 527 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Lilian or Lina?
- Lina. Over the last five years Lilian moved up 96 places; Lina moved up 118 places.
- Which is the older name, Lilian or Lina?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Lilian and Lina?
- About 18,000 people named Lilian are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 15,000 people named Lina are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Lilians or Linas in the classroom?
- Lilian will almost certainly be the only one in school. Lina 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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