Lilu
A feminine name from the movie "The Fifth Element", possibly inspired by Lilith.
Name Census estimates that about 194 living Americans carry the first name Lilu. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lilu today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lilu births was 2011 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lilu. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Lilu with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
194
~ 1 in 1,766,775 Americans
Peak year
2011
18 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,469
Tracked since 2001
Census
Lilu in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 239 people with the first name Lilu, which placed it at #34,236 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#34,236
National first-name rank
People counted
239
239 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
40.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lilu
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lilu is White at 40.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (30.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (15.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Lilu described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Lilu at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White40.6% · 97
- Hispanic or Latino30.5% · 73
- Asian and Pacific Islander15.5% · 37
- Two or more races10.9% · 26
- Black or African American2.5% · 6
Popularity
Lilu: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lilu from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 108 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lilu by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Lilu during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lilus live
Origin
Meaning and history of Lilu
The name Lilu is believed to have originated in ancient Sumerian civilization, one of the earliest known civilizations in the world, dating back to around 4000 BCE. It is derived from the Sumerian word "lil," which means "air" or "wind." The name was likely given to children in the hopes that they would possess qualities associated with the wind, such as freedom, lightness, and fluidity.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lilu can be found in the Epic of Gilgamesh, a Sumerian epic poem that is considered one of the oldest known works of literature. In the epic, Lilu is mentioned as a female demon or spirit who is associated with storms and winds.
During the ancient Babylonian period, which spanned from around 1900 BCE to 539 BCE, the name Lilu was also known and used. It is mentioned in several Babylonian texts and inscriptions, often in reference to deities or spirits associated with the wind and storms.
In ancient Greek mythology, there is a figure named Lilith, which is a similar name to Lilu. Lilith is portrayed as a demonic figure or a female spirit who is often associated with the night and darkness. However, it is unclear whether the Greek Lilith is directly related to the Sumerian Lilu or if the similarity in names is merely a coincidence.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Lilu was a Sumerian priestess who lived around 2500 BCE. She is mentioned in several cuneiform tablets that detail her role in religious ceremonies and rituals.
Another notable figure with the name Lilu was a Babylonian princess who lived during the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar II, around 600 BCE. She is mentioned in several historical records and is said to have been a influential figure in the Babylonian court.
In ancient Indian literature, there is a character named Lilu who appears in the Mahabharata, one of the two major Sanskrit epics. In the epic, Lilu is depicted as a celestial nymph or apsara who is known for her beauty and grace.
During the medieval period, the name Lilu was also used in several regions of the Middle East and North Africa. One notable individual with this name was Lilu al-Qadiri, a renowned scholar and philosopher who lived in Baghdad during the 10th century CE.
Another influential figure with the name Lilu was Lilu al-Andalusi, a Moorish poet and writer who lived in Spain during the 11th century CE. She is known for her contributions to the literary and cultural traditions of the Andalusian region.
People
Lilu + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lilu as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Lilu: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lilu?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 194 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lilu going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,766,775 US residents.
Is Lilu a common name?
We classify Lilu as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 196 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lilu most popular?
The single biggest year for Lilu was 2011, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lilu is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lilu in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 239 people with the name Lilu, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #34,236 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Lilu in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Lilu?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lilu leans strongly female. 228 people counted with this name were female (95.0%), compared with 12 male bearers (5.0%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Lilu?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lilu is White at 40.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (30.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (15.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Lilu most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Lilu in the 2020 Census, accounting for 40.6% (97 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Lilu in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lilu a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lilu in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Lilu still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lilu in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Lilu can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Lilu?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.