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Origin: |
As a given name, Lily began life in the Middle Ages as Lylie/Lilie, most likely a pet-form of Elizabeth.* When the Old French suffix -an/-on was added to Lylie it became Lilian, which — in a round-about-twist — Lily later became used as a nickname for. Elizabeth itself is the English form of the Latin Elizabetha, derived from the Greek Elisabet which, in turn, was derived from the Hebrew Elisheba — el "God" and shaba "to swear, to promise an oath." The surnames Liley, Lilley, Lillie, Lilly and Lely mostly derive from the medieval Lylie but occasionally they also derive from the village of Lilley in Hertfordshire or Lilly in Berkshire.* Lilley was originally Linleia in the Domesday Book showing it derives from the Old English līn "flax" and lēah "clearing." Lily is also commonly associated as the name of several flowers known as lilies such as the Madonna lily, water lily, fire lily, lily of the Nile, calla lily, trout lily, kaffir lily, cobra lily, lily of the valley, daylily, ginger lily, Amazon lily, leek lily, Peruvian lily, and others. The word lily derives from the Old English lilie, itself from Latin lilia "a lily," cognate with Greek leirion. Both are thought to be borrowed from a corrupted pronunciation of an eastern Mediterranean word such as the Coptic hreri, hleli "lily."* By the 1530s it is recorded as being used as an adjective meaning "white, pure, lovely." For centuries, lilies have been the symbol of purity. For the Romans, the lily was sacred to the Queen of the Gods, Juno and, because she was the patroness of marriage and the family, lilies were used in Roman marriage ceremonies. |
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Usage: |
Evidence for Lylie/Lilie's medieval use, though sparse, comes from the 13th century when we find it as a matronymic surname (one taken from the mother's name). One Alan Lilie is listed as a witness in the Bedfordshire Assize Rolls in 1247; a Hugh Lily is in the Hundred Rolls of Lincoln for 1275 and a "Thomas son of Lylie" is mentioned in 1296 in the Court Rolls of Wakefield. The diminutive Lilian is found in the instance of Geoffrey Lilion in the Bedfordshire Hundred Rolls in 1279. The surnames Lelliott and Lilliard point to other derivatives of Lylie/Lilie.* It is almost impossible to tell how common Lylie was in the Middle Ages. Not only are records scarce, it was clearly used as a pet-name and any woman called Lylie in the Middle Ages would have been officially named Elizabeth. In George Redmonds' top 50 names from the poll tax returns of ten English counties 1377-81, Elizabeth ranks at #17, which he categorises as "quite popular." By the late 16th century, it was the #1 name in England and it is during this century that we find Lily itself (most commonly spelled Lilly or Lillie) recorded as a given name in its own right — perhaps bolstered by the surnames — alongside Lilian and and the variant Lilias in Scotland. Despite this, Lily didn't come into popular use until the 19th century, and by the end of that century it had risen dramatically in usage. There is an assumption that Lily developed as a nickname for Lilian originally, however, the spelling Lilly was the first to rise, followed by Lilian, then Lily, Lillian and Lillie. Lilla was also in use. Lilly's use may be thanks to its being used as a pet-name for another name containing -ill or li- and many early famous Lilys certainly used it as cuch. For example, actress Lillie Langtry (1853-1929) was born Emilie Charlotte Langtry; American painter Lilly Martin Spencer (1822-1902) was Angelique, French composer, Lili Boulanger (1893-1918) was Marie-Juliette, German feminist writer Lily Braun (1865–1916) was Amalie and English actress Lily Brayton (1876–1953) was Elizabeth. By the late 19th century, Lily had emerged as the dominant spelling as Lilly declined. This coincided with the late-Victorian floral-name craze which saw the rise of Rose, Daisy, May, Violet and the like. Birth rankings in England and Wales:
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By 1944, Lily had left the top 100 in England and Wales and didn't return to the top 100 until 1994 when it ranked #90. From then on its ascent was rapid, reaching the top 50 at #45 (1,124 births) in 2000 and the top 10 at #9 (3,407 births) in 2006. Since then it has fluctuated within the top 13, peaking at #3 with 4,761 births in 2011. The spelling Lilly also saw a steep rise over the same period. From ranking #375 (89 births) in 1996, it jumped rapidly from #169 (291 births) in 2003 to #100 (521 births) in 2004. It carried on rising in the top 100 til it reached a peak of #27 (1,950 births) in 2011 (the same year that Lily peaked - the spelling Lillie also reached a peak of #112 in the same year). With so many different spellings seeing success, and all the hyphenated forms such as Lily-Rose and Lily-Mae, Lily has been even more successful that the statistics suggest. With combined spellings added together, Lily was the #1 name in England and Wales in 2009, 2010 and 2011, and the second most popular name in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 after Amelia. It was the third most popular in 2016 after Amelia and Olivia. In 2016, Lily ranked #7 with 2,722 births, Lilly was #60 with 1,014 births and Lillie ranked #148 (368 births). |
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Famous Bearers: |
History: * Lilly Martin Spencer (1822–1902), American painter. Contemporary: * Lily Tuck (born 1938), American novelist. Literature and Other Media: * The Lily, a poem by British poet William Blake. |
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Variants: |
Lilly, Lillie, Lilley, Lili, Lilee |
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Pronunciation: |
LIL-ee [key] |
| Possible longer forms: |
Alila, Elizabeth, Emily, Kalila, Leilani, Lilian, Liliana, Lilianne, Lilias, Lilia, Liliosa, Lilith, Liliwen, Lilwen, Lilou, Millicent, Ophelia, Ottilie, Philippa |
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Sibling Names: |
Ava Isla Evie Mia Ruby Elsie |
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Name Lists: |
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Thanks to Lydia for requesting this name.
