Head to head · Girls' names
Lilian vs Mavis
#560 vs #560 in 2025
Lilian and Mavis share the same spot on the 2025 charts (#560). 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: Lilian and Mavis 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: Lilian #445, Mavis — — Lilian higher
- 1890s: Lilian #556, Mavis #1097 — Lilian higher
- 1900s: Lilian #677, Mavis #759 — Lilian higher
- 1910s: Lilian #750, Mavis #511 — Mavis higher
- 1920s: Lilian #1235, Mavis #278 — Mavis higher
- 1930s: Lilian #2097, Mavis #293 — Mavis higher
- 1940s: Lilian #2418, Mavis #462 — Mavis higher
- 1950s: Lilian #2649, Mavis #733 — Mavis higher
- 1960s: Lilian #2169, Mavis #1206 — Mavis higher
- 1970s: Lilian #1922, Mavis #2505 — Lilian higher
- 1980s: Lilian #1685, Mavis #4634 — Lilian higher
- 1990s: Lilian #1065, Mavis #7044 — Lilian higher
- 2000s: Lilian #527, Mavis #8483 — Lilian higher
- 2010s: Lilian #523, Mavis #2093 — Lilian higher
- 2020s: Lilian #591, Mavis #666 — Lilian higher
Lilian stood higher in 9 of 15 decades; Lilian has held the lead since the 1970s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Lilian | Mavis |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #445 | — |
| 1890s | #556 | #1097 |
| 1900s | #677 | #759 |
| 1910s | #750 | #511 |
| 1920s | #1235 | #278 |
| 1930s | #2097 | #293 |
| 1940s | #2418 | #462 |
| 1950s | #2649 | #733 |
| 1960s | #2169 | #1206 |
| 1970s | #1922 | #2505 |
| 1980s | #1685 | #4634 |
| 1990s | #1065 | #7044 |
| 2000s | #527 | #8483 |
| 2010s | #523 | #2093 |
| 2020s | #591 | #666 |
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
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.
Mavis
song thrush
From Middle English mavis, borrowed from Old French mauvis, the name for the thrush — a word English and Scottish poets kept alive long after ordinary speech dropped it.
mauvis (Old French) → mavis (Middle English word for the thrush) → Mavis (English given name)
How it traveled
The word arrived in English from Old French mauvis and settled in as the literary name for the song thrush, appearing in poetry well into the nineteenth century after everyday speech had switched to "thrush". It was already in scattered use as a girl's name when Marie Corelli published The Sorrows of Satan in 1895, giving her heroine the name Mavis Clare; the novel was enormously read and the name spread widely in Britain, then in the United States.
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.
Mavis
MAY-viss
Stress on the first syllable. The spelling gives the sound away, so it rarely needs repeating over the phone.
- Mave — The most common short form, informal; occasionally written Maeve, which is a separate Irish name in its own right.
- Mavie — Affectionate diminutive, used within families rather than formally.
- May — Informal shortening from the first syllable; also stands alone as a given name.
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 holding steadyLilian is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itLilian runs 3 syllables, Mavis 2
- a long American recordLilian was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Mavis if you want…
- a name on the way upup 280 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesMavis is 2 syllables to Lilian's 3
- a newer arrivalMavis entered the US charts in 1893
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.
Mavis
Strengths
- Spelled exactly as it sounds and short enough to write early — no correction required at the start of every school year.
- An unbroken record on American name lists stretching back to the Victorian era, so it is familiar rather than newly coined.
- A documented word meaning behind it: the song thrush, from Old French through Middle English poetry.
To consider
- Most Mavises alive in the US today are in their eighties and older, so the name still reads as a grandmother's name to many ears. That is precisely what makes it available again, but the association is real for now.
- A child named Mavis will very likely be the only one in her school, which some children enjoy and others do not.
- The meaning is lovely and almost nobody knows it — "mavis" left everyday English long ago, so you will be the one explaining the bird.
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 Mavis 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 Mavis?
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 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
- Vintage names making a comeback
- all guides
Where Lilian and Mavis each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Lilian or Mavis — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Lilian or Mavis?
- They tie in 2025: Lilian ranked #560 with 537 babies; Mavis ranked #560 with 537 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Lilian or Mavis?
- Mavis. Over the last five years Lilian moved up 96 places; Mavis moved up 280 places.
- Which is the older name, Lilian or Mavis?
- Lilian was already in use when US records began in 1880; Mavis entered the US charts in 1893. On the American record, Lilian is the older name.
- How many people are named Lilian and Mavis?
- About 18,000 people named Lilian are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 11,000 people named Mavis are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Lilians or Maviss in the classroom?
- Lilian will almost certainly be the only one in school. Mavis 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 Lilian, Mavis and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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