Baby Names US
girls' name ★ peaked 2025

Tilly

Meaning A diminutive of the female given name Matilda Gender Girl Rank 2025 #885 Trend ↑ Rising 81%

A diminutive of the female given name Matilda.

Rank 2025
#885
among girls · ↑69 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
302
named Tilly · +10% vs 2024
How common
1 in 5,322
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2025
302 babies
All-time total
2,699
#3,846 all-time among girls
First recorded
1912
in Social Security records

Tilly popularity over time

2,699 babies have been named Tilly since 1912, 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
0.050.10.150.218801900192019401960198020002020Peak 2025Girls

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 Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – –
1890s – – – –
1900s – – – –
1910s 27 3 – #2,003
1920s 20 2 -26% #5,363
1930s 11 1 -45% #4,178
1940s 6 1 -45% #4,299
1950s 5 1 -17% #7,128
1960s 18 2 +260% #5,809
1970s 28 3 +56% #8,196
1980s 5 1 -82% #13,124
1990s 71 7 +1320% #7,206
2000s 184 18 +159% #3,867
2010s 872 87 +374% #1,344
2020s (to 2025) 1,452 242 +178% #885

Where Tilly 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 335 0.21 outside top 500
2027 366 0.23 outside top 500
2028 394 0.25 outside top 500
2029 420 0.26 outside top 500
2030 443 0.28 outside top 500

Where Tilly is most popular

Girls named Tilly per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.159 per 1,000. Strongest in South Dakota, Oregon, and Kentucky.

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 Tilly 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
South Dakota 11 0.771 +386%
Oregon 39 0.599 +278%
Kentucky 49 0.573 +261%
North Dakota 6 0.456 +188%
Tennessee 64 0.404 +155%
Indiana 52 0.370 +134%
Washington 48 0.332 +110%
Missouri 39 0.324 +104%
Arkansas 17 0.322 +103%
Utah 26 0.312 +97%
Colorado 33 0.296 +87%
South Carolina 26 0.289 +82%
West Virginia 7 0.267 +69%
Oklahoma 19 0.258 +63%
Michigan 46 0.253 +59%
Wisconsin 25 0.243 +53%
Ohio 54 0.228 +44%
North Carolina 49 0.215 +36%
Idaho 7 0.209 +32%
Iowa 12 0.205 +30%
Virginia 34 0.199 +26%
Arizona 27 0.192 +21%
Minnesota 20 0.185 +17%
Georgia 34 0.150 -6%
Illinois 29 0.127 -20%
Louisiana 11 0.126 -21%
Florida 53 0.124 -22%
Texas 95 0.118 -25%
Mississippi 5 0.107 -33%
New York 40 0.101 -36%
Maryland 10 0.094 -40%
Kansas 5 0.087 -45%
Alabama 5 0.053 -66%
Pennsylvania 12 0.051 -68%
California 41 0.049 -69%
New Jersey 5 0.028 -83%
Alaska – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maine – – –
Montana – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Rhode Island – – –
Vermont – – –
Wyoming – – –

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 Tilly

Tilly is uncommon for girls in the United States, ranked #885 in 2025 with 302 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1912, 2,699 American babies have been named Tilly. Its peak came in 2025, when 302 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

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 Tilly stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Tilly?

The median living Tilly is about 5 years old; half are between 2 and 10. An estimated 2,600 people named Tilly are alive in the United States today.

median 5 020406080100

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

Tilly year by year

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

Year Girls Girls rank
2025 302 #885
2024 274 #954
2023 242 #1,045
2022 250 #1,028
2021 218 #1,133
2020 166 #1,332
2019 170 #1,344
2018 129 #1,648
2017 110 #1,862
2016 83 #2,305
2015 84 #2,257
2014 69 #2,580
2013 64 #2,724
2012 68 #2,652
2011 51 #3,263
2010 44 #3,620
2009 41 #3,867
2008 28 #5,266
2007 31 #4,797
2006 17 #7,456
2005 14 #8,297
2004 13 #8,682
2003 14 #7,965
2002 9 #11,032
2001 12 #8,710
2000 5 #17,428
1995 9 #9,501
1990 6 #12,846
1985 – –
1980 – –
1975 5 #10,491
1970 – –
1965 – –
1960 – –
1955 – –
1950 – –
1945 – –
1940 6 #4,299
1935 – –
1930 – –
1925 5 #5,696
1920 5 #5,682
1915 – –
1910 – –
1905 – –
1900 – –
1895 – –
1890 – –
1885 – –
1880 – –

Famous people named Tilly

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

  1. 1 Tilly Fleischer Tilly Fleischer German javelin thrower (1911–2005) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Tilly?

The median living Tilly is about 5 years old. Half of all living Tillys are between 2 and 10 years old.

How many people named Tilly are alive today?

An estimated 2,600 people named Tilly are alive in the United States, based on 2,699 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Tilly mean?

A diminutive of the female given name Matilda.

How popular is the name Tilly in 2025?

Tilly ranked #885 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 302 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Tilly?

2,699 babies have been named Tilly in the United States since 1912, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Tilly most popular?

Tilly peaked in 2025, when 302 newborns received the name.

Is Tilly a boy or girl name?

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

Is the name Tilly rising or falling?

Tilly is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Tilly become more popular?

Tilly is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 443 girls named Tilly in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Tilly?

Well-known people named Tilly include Tilly Fleischer (athlete).

Names like Tilly

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

Compare Tilly with similar names → More names starting with T →