Lucilla
Feminine · “Latin lux”
Lucilla was the daughter of Marcus Aurelius and she tried to have her brother killed. Commodus was by most accounts a disaster as emperor; his sister joined a conspiracy against him in 182, it failed, and she was exiled to Capri and executed. The name means little light.
How old is the name Lucilla?
Lucilla first appears in US birth records in 1898 — 127 years ago. The typical Lucilla alive today was born around 1955, making them about 70 years old. About 600 people named Lucilla are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Lucilla most popular?
Lucilla peaked in 1909, reaching #1369 nationally. Today it ranks #8860, 7,491 places below that high. See the whole 1909 chart.
Where it comes from
From lux to Lucilla
The story of Lucilla
The conspiracy is described by Cassius Dio and by the Historia Augusta, which disagree on the details as they usually do. Lucilla had been married to Lucius Verus, co-emperor with her father, and after his death was married off again to a man of lower rank, which cost her precedence at court to her brother's wife. The plot involved a nephew who confronted Commodus in a passage of the amphitheatre with a drawn sword, announcing that the Senate had sent him, which gave the guards ample time to disarm him. Everyone involved was executed and Lucilla was sent to Capri and then killed. Whether the motive was political or a matter of precedence is not recoverable; ancient historians preferred the second because it made a better story about women at court. Commodus reigned another eight years.
Meaning
Latin lux, light
From Latin lux, light, through the name Lucius and its diminutive Lucilla, little light. The same root gives lucid, translucent, elucidate and Lucifer, the light-bearer. Annia Aurelia Galeria Lucilla, daughter of Marcus Aurelius and sister of Commodus, died in 182. The name is used in Italy and Spain and entered American records in the nineteenth century, peaking in 1909.
How the name formed
- lux
- Lucius
- Lucilla
Related forms: Lucilla · Lucila · Lucile
Pronouncing Lucilla
loo-SIL-ah
Three syllables, stress on the second. Italian says loo-CHEEL-lah with the c as ch and the double l genuinely held. Spanish Lucila is loo-SEE-lah with one l.
Nicknames for Lucilla
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1898
- Most girls named
- 195519 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1369reached in 1909
- Change vs 2023
- 0.0%11 in 2025, from 11
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Lucilla in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Lucilla in Italian — same name
- Lucila in Spanish — same name
- Lucile in French — same name
Lucillas among us
people named Lucilla are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 146,115 born in 2025 was named Lucilla
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Lucilla
- #8860
- Lucilla on the 2025 chart
- #925
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Lucilla went to 11 girls in 2025, but Lucila is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 35, which makes it the 925th most-given girls’ name of the year — 7,935 places above the chart.
- Lucila24
- Lucilla11
About 1 girl in 45,922 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 146,115 for Lucilla itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Lucilla 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 scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Lucilla beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Lucilla in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The Latin root is settled and productive in English vocabulary.
- Lucy and Cilla are two very different short forms.
- It has a documented Roman bearer.
- Lucille and Lucilla are frequently confused.
- The doubled l is Italian and looks like an error to Spanish readers.
- It reads as early twentieth century in American records.
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Lucilla
Feminine · #8860 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Lucillas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Lucilla are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Lucilla?
- Lucilla is one of 2 recorded spellings. Lucila is the more common one — 24 births in 2025 against 11 for Lucilla.
- How popular is the name Lucilla in 2025?
- Lucilla ranks #8860 among US girl names in 2025, with 11 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Lucilla?
- About 1 in every 146,115 US girls born in 2025 was named Lucilla — 11 in all.
- Will my child share the name Lucilla with classmates?
- Lucilla will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Lucilla
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Lida#8860 · Lauretta#8860 · Dot#8860 · Bonita#8860 · Benita#8860 · Trixie#8860 · Adna#8860 · Sue#8860
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Lucilla? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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