Lilly

In Christian iconography, the lily is the signature flower of the Virgin Mary, symbolizing her virginity and purity, and appears in countless Annunciation paintings from the 13th century onward.

It is also the attribute of Saint Joseph, Saint Anthony of Padua, and numerous virgin martyrs.

The fleur-de-lis, stylized from the lily, was adopted as the heraldic emblem of the kings of France in the 12th century under Louis VII and remained the royal symbol until the French Revolution.

As a given name, Lily emerged during the Victorian era, part of the broader 19th-century fashion for flower and nature names that produced Rose, Violet, Daisy, Iris, and Ivy.

The doubled spelling Lilly has been used since the 17th century, sometimes as a variant and sometimes as an independent pet form of Elizabeth, where the Lil- syllable derives from the name’s middle.

The astrologer William Lilly (1602-1681) carried it as a surname, and the English pharmaceutical family of Eli Lilly, founded in 1876, further established the spelling.

According to U.S. Social Security Administration records, Lilly has appeared in the top 1000 since the 1880s, receded during the mid-20th century, and returned strongly from the late 1990s onward, reaching the top 200 by the 2010s.

The single-L form Lily consistently ranks higher and has been in the top 50 since the early 2000s, but Lilly maintains its own substantial following, particularly in the American Midwest and South.

The name is also popular in Germany, Hungary, and the Netherlands.