girl's name
Lilith
LIL-ith
- Origin Akkadian
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 15,902
the United States
#277
2025 births
Lilith is a girl's name of Mesopotamian origin, from a class of night spirits called lilitu in Akkadian. Hebrew connected it to layil, night, and later Jewish legend made Lilith the first wife of Adam — a story that appears nowhere in the Bible itself.
- Lilith is a name of Akkadian origin.
- Peaked in 2023, when 1,300 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 2,984 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1913.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Lilith over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1910s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1910s | 35 |
| 1920s | 23 |
| 1930s | 9 |
| 1940s | 5 |
| 1960s | 26 |
| 1970s | 41 |
| 1980s | 17 |
| 1990s | 256 |
| 2000s | 1,353 |
| 2010s | 4,752 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 7,017 |
What Lilith means
Lilith is usually given as of the night, through the Hebrew layil. That connection is probably a folk etymology: the older Akkadian lilitu names a type of spirit and is not built on the word for night at all.
Where Lilith comes from
Lilith descends from the Akkadian lilitu, a female night spirit in Mesopotamian belief, itself from a Sumerian root. Hebrew took the word and attached it to layil, night, which is where the familiar meaning comes from, though the two are not related. The name appears exactly once in the Hebrew Bible, at Isaiah 34:14, in a list of creatures inhabiting a ruined landscape, and translations render it variously as screech owl, night creature or simply Lilith. The story of Lilith as Adam's first wife, made from the same earth and refusing to submit to him, comes from the Alphabet of Ben Sira, a satirical medieval text, not from scripture.
Lilith in use
Lilith charts in all seven countries we track, and peaked in 2023.
How popular is Lilith?
In 2025, Lilith was given to 1,111 babies in the United States, ranking #277 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Lilith is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Lilith
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Lilith also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Lilith over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Lilith
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Lilith in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Lilith
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Lilith — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Lilith
What does the name Lilith mean?
It is usually given as of the night, but that comes from a Hebrew folk connection to layil. The older Akkadian lilitu simply names a class of spirit.
Is Lilith in the Bible?
The word appears once, at Isaiah 34:14, among creatures in a ruined landscape. The story of Lilith as Adam's first wife is medieval, from the Alphabet of Ben Sira, not biblical.
How do you pronounce Lilith?
LIL-ith, with the stress on the first syllable.
How popular is the name Lilith?
In 2025, Lilith was given to 1,111 babies in the United States, ranking #277 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Lilith a girl's or a boy's name?
Lilith is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Lilith?
Lilith has 2 syllables.
When was Lilith most popular?
Lilith peaked in 2023, when 1,300 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Lilith?
Lilith is usually shortened to Lil and Lily.
Is Lilith a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Lilith currently ranks #277 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.