girl's name
Lucile
loo-SEEL
- Origin French
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Rare
- Births on record 72,851
France
#467
2025 births
Lucile means light, and France ranks it 467th while the United States has it at 5006th — a French name that America had and lost, having peaked there in 1917. We record 72,818 lifetime births for it, strongest in France.
- Lucile is a name of French origin.
- Peaked in France in 1990, when 1,220 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 5,614 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1900.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Lucile over time
Births per decade in France, 1900s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 1,115 |
| 1910s | 1,055 |
| 1920s | 1,460 |
| 1930s | 1,430 |
| 1940s | 1,090 |
| 1950s | 1,015 |
| 1960s | 1,435 |
| 1970s | 1,885 |
| 1980s | 6,820 |
| 1990s | 9,365 |
| 2000s | 6,385 |
| 2010s | 3,805 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 950 |
What Lucile means
Lucile means light. The Latin lux is the ordinary noun, and the Roman name built on it traditionally marked a child born at first light.
Where Lucile comes from
Lucile is the French form of Lucilla, a diminutive of Lucia, from the Latin lux, light — a name given to a child born at dawn. The same root gives Lucy, Lucinda, Lucas and the lucid in lucid dreaming, and stands behind Lucifer, the light-bearer, which was the Latin name for the morning star before it named anything else. Lucile Desmoulins was guillotined in 1794 for petitioning for her husband's life.
Lucile in use
Lucile peaked in the United States in 1917, when 1,516 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It charts in two of the seven markets we track — 467th in France on 105 births and 5006th in the United States on 25 — across 72,851 lifetime births. So an American peak more than a century ago has left almost nothing, while France ranks it inside the top 500.
How popular is Lucile?
In 2025, Lucile was given to 105 babies in France, ranking #467 that year. It is a rare choice.
Where Lucile is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Lucile
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Lucile also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Lucile over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Lucile
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.
Lucile 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 Lucile
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Lucile — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Lucile
What does the name Lucile mean?
Light — from the Latin lux.
Is it Lucile or Lucille?
Lucile is the French spelling; Lucille is the more common English one.
Is Lucifer from the same root?
Yes — light-bearer, the Latin name for the morning star before it meant anything else.
How popular is Lucile?
467th in France against 5006th in the United States.
Is Lucile a girl's or a boy's name?
Lucile is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Lucile?
Lucile has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Lucile?
Lucile is usually shortened to Lulu.
Is Lucile a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Lucile currently ranks #467 in France. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.