girls' name ★ peaked 2010

Lila

Meaning lilac Gender Girl Rank 2025 #187 Trend ↑ Rising 16%

Variant of Leila or Lilah, depending on pronunciation; also associated with Spanish lila (“lilac”).

Rank 2025
#187
among girls · ↑20 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
1,670
named Lila · +13% vs 2024
How common
1 in 962
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2010
1,969 babies
All-time total
76,550
#452 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Lila popularity over time

76,550 babies have been named Lila since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.380.751.131.518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 691 – 691 69 – #206
1890s 1,673 – 1,673 167 +142% #195
1900s 2,337 – 2,337 234 +40% #186
1910s 5,567 – 5,567 557 +138% #209
1920s 10,304 21 10,325 1,033 +85% #175
1930s 7,840 36 7,876 788 -24% #170
1940s 4,408 – 4,408 441 -44% #270
1950s 3,569 – 3,569 357 -19% #419
1960s 1,905 – 1,905 191 -47% #580
1970s 1,234 – 1,234 123 -35% #879
1980s 1,255 – 1,255 126 +2% #984
1990s 1,560 – 1,560 156 +24% #724
2000s 9,036 – 9,036 904 +479% #168
2010s 16,568 – 16,568 1,657 +83% #155
2020s (to 2025) 8,546 – 8,546 1,424 -14% #187

Where Lila is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 1,712 1.06 #181
2027 1,748 1.09 #176
2028 1,779 1.11 #174
2029 1,806 1.12 #169
2030 1,829 1.14 #164

Where Lila is most popular

Girls named Lila per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.893 per 1,000. Strongest in District of Columbia, Maine, and Rhode Island.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Lila born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
District of Columbia 45 3.80 +325%
Maine 46 2.97 +233%
Rhode Island 37 2.96 +231%
Montana 35 2.59 +189%
Wyoming 10 2.35 +163%
Connecticut 127 2.18 +144%
Vermont 10 2.06 +131%
New Hampshire 38 2.06 +130%
West Virginia 53 2.02 +126%
Idaho 63 1.88 +111%
Massachusetts 221 1.83 +105%
South Dakota 26 1.82 +104%
Utah 150 1.80 +102%
Iowa 100 1.71 +92%
South Carolina 138 1.54 +72%
Minnesota 160 1.48 +66%
Nebraska 50 1.39 +56%
Kansas 79 1.37 +53%
Kentucky 117 1.37 +53%
Oklahoma 99 1.35 +51%
Michigan 238 1.31 +46%
Colorado 145 1.30 +45%
Wisconsin 133 1.29 +45%
Alabama 115 1.22 +37%
Ohio 288 1.21 +36%
Oregon 79 1.21 +36%
New York 473 1.19 +34%
Missouri 143 1.19 +33%
Nevada 55 1.18 +33%
Washington 171 1.18 +33%
Virginia 195 1.14 +28%
North Dakota 15 1.14 +28%
North Carolina 256 1.12 +26%
Tennessee 177 1.12 +25%
Pennsylvania 262 1.11 +24%
Arkansas 58 1.10 +23%
Indiana 154 1.10 +23%
Mississippi 50 1.07 +20%
Maryland 113 1.07 +19%
New Mexico 25 1.03 +15%
Georgia 225 0.990 +11%
Louisiana 86 0.983 +10%
Illinois 223 0.974 +9%
New Jersey 174 0.964 +8%
Arizona 126 0.898 ≈ national
Florida 380 0.888 ≈ national
Hawaii 10 0.872 ≈ national
California 645 0.767 -14%
Texas 561 0.697 -22%
Delaware 5 0.441 -51%
Alaska – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Lila

Lila is moderately common for girls in the United States, ranked #187 in 2025 with 1,670 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 76,550 American babies have been named Lila. Its peak came in 2010, when 1,969 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2010s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Lila stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Lila?

The median living Lila is about 15 years old; half are between 8 and 38. An estimated 48 thousand people named Lila are alive in the United States today.

median 15 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Lila year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 1,670 #187 – –
2024 1,482 #207 – –
2023 1,401 #213 – –
2022 1,354 #221 – –
2021 1,341 #223 – –
2020 1,298 #228 – –
2019 1,373 #228 – –
2018 1,405 #225 – –
2017 1,474 #210 – –
2016 1,561 #210 – –
2015 1,658 #199 – –
2014 1,776 #184 – –
2013 1,703 #190 – –
2012 1,728 #182 – –
2011 1,921 #163 – –
2010 1,969 #155 – –
2009 1,935 #168 – –
2008 1,852 #180 – –
2007 1,357 #259 – –
2006 1,006 #329 – –
2005 680 #448 – –
2004 599 #491 – –
2003 492 #569 – –
2002 414 #618 – –
2001 394 #641 – –
2000 307 #751 – –
1995 124 #1,333 – –
1990 125 #1,304 – –
1985 132 #1,101 – –
1980 150 #988 – –
1975 103 #1,134 – –
1970 123 #1,014 – –
1965 167 #767 – –
1960 291 #580 – –
1955 355 #483 – –
1950 351 #432 – –
1945 368 #362 – –
1940 529 #270 – –
1935 753 #226 7 #3,135
1930 1,203 #170 5 #4,320
1925 1,248 #175 – –
1920 840 #227 6 #4,084
1915 684 #230 – –
1910 311 #209 – –
1905 211 #212 – –
1900 268 #191 – –
1895 175 #204 – –
1890 120 #222 – –
1885 62 #254 – –
1880 36 #257 – –

Famous people named Lila

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Lila Downs Lila Downs Mexican singer-songwriter (born 1968) Contemporary
  2. 2 Lila Kedrova Lila Kedrova Russian-French actress (1909–2000) 1918–2000 · Contemporary
  3. 3 Lila Lee Lila Lee Prominent screen actress of the early silent film era 1905–1973 · Contemporary
  4. 4 Lila Tretikov Lila Tretikov Russian-American engineer and Wikimedian (born 1978) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Lila, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Lila?

The median living Lila is about 15 years old. Half of all living Lilas are between 8 and 38 years old.

How many people named Lila are alive today?

An estimated 48 thousand people named Lila are alive in the United States, based on 76,550 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Lila mean?

Variant of Leila or Lilah, depending on pronunciation; also associated with Spanish lila (“lilac”).

How popular is the name Lila in 2025?

Lila ranked #187 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 1,670 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Lila?

76,550 babies have been named Lila in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Lila most popular?

Lila peaked in 2010, when 1,969 newborns received the name.

Is Lila a boy or girl name?

Lila is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Lila rising or falling?

Lila has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Lila become more popular?

Lila is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 1,829 girls named Lila in 2030, which would rank around #164. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Lila?

Well-known people named Lila include Lila Downs (singer), Lila Kedrova (actor), Lila Lee (actor).

Names like Lila

Names that sound and feel close to Lila: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Lila with similar names → More names starting with L →