Fun Facts About the Name Lilith
- More than 13 thousand babies named Lilith: U.S. records list 13,515 babies given the name Lilith from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Lilith Mean?
Lilith is a Hebrew name usually explained as "of the night" or "night creature." It is formed from the Hebrew word layil, meaning "night," with the feminine ending -it, which gives the form לִילִית (lilit).
A competing explanation treats the Hebrew word as a borrowing of Akkadian lilītu, a female demon of the night related to lilû. Because the two words look alike and both concern night, scholars disagree about which one is the source; the question is not settled.
The later picture of Lilith as a demon, or as Adam's first wife, belongs to religious and literary tradition rather than to the word's original sense.
Lilith Name History & Origins
The Hebrew word לִילִית appears once in the Bible, in Isaiah 34:14, a passage that describes the ruin of Edom as a haunt of desert animals. It stands in a list with creatures such as the hyena, wildcat, and jackal. English translations differ: the King James Version gives "screech owl," while others give "night creature," "night bird," or keep the name "Lilith."
Jewish sources from late antiquity onward treat Lilith as a female spirit. Passages in the Babylonian Talmud, including Shabbat 151b, refer to her, and Aramaic incantation bowls and amulets from Babylonia, roughly the fifth to seventh centuries, were made to guard against her, particularly in matters of childbirth and infant illness.
The best-known story comes from the Alphabet of Ben Sira, a Hebrew work whose date is debated and often placed between the eighth and tenth centuries. It describes Lilith as Adam's first wife, who refuses to be subordinate and leaves him. The Zohar, a thirteenth-century kabbalistic work, later depicts her as a demonic figure paired with Samael.
European literature took up the figure in the nineteenth century. Goethe's Faust mentions Lilith, Dante Gabriel Rossetti wrote the poem "Eden Bower" and painted Lady Lilith, and George MacDonald published the novel Lilith in 1895. During the twentieth century the name also came into use as a given name in English-speaking countries and appeared in novels, films, and video games.
How Popular is the Name Lilith?
Lilith recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2023. Its best rank was #232 in 2023.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #277 | 1,111 | 0.0691% |
| 2024 | #256 | 1,240 | 0.0769% |
| 2023 | #232 | 1,298 | 0.0810% |
| 2022 | #269 | 1,182 | 0.0721% |
| 2021 | #269 | 1,164 | 0.0710% |
| 2020 | #316 | 1,005 | 0.0622% |
| 2019 | #403 | 771 | 0.0460% |
| 2018 | #520 | 602 | 0.0354% |
| 2017 | #488 | 639 | 0.0370% |
| 2016 | #534 | 584 | 0.0330% |
| 2015 | #587 | 515 | 0.0289% |
| 2014 | #632 | 453 | 0.0254% |
| 2013 | #829 | 323 | 0.0184% |
| 2012 | #823 | 327 | 0.0186% |
| 2011 | #924 | 282 | 0.0160% |
| 2010 | #994 | 254 | 0.0143% |
| 2009 | #1,148 | 221 | 0.0120% |
| 2008 | #1,320 | 187 | 0.0099% |
| 2007 | #1,466 | 160 | 0.0083% |
| 2006 | #1,604 | 134 | 0.0070% |
| 2005 | #1,567 | 130 | 0.0070% |
| 2004 | #1,694 | 115 | 0.0063% |
| 2003 | #1,663 | 116 | 0.0063% |
| 2002 | #1,765 | 103 | 0.0057% |
| 2001 | #1,814 | 98 | 0.0054% |
| 2000 | #1,913 | 89 | 0.0049% |
| 1999 | #1,795 | 89 | 0.0050% |
| 1998 | #2,267 | 63 | 0.0036% |
| 1997 | #3,860 | 29 | 0.0017% |
| 1996 | #7,386 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1995 | #6,132 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 1994 | #9,276 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1993 | #9,189 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1992 | #6,885 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1991 | #8,340 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1990 | #10,883 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1989 | #13,610 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1987 | #12,397 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1985 | #8,858 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1978 | #8,139 | 7 | 0.0005% |
| 1975 | #8,588 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1974 | #9,554 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1973 | #7,972 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1971 | #5,800 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1970 | #6,098 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1967 | #5,777 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1966 | #5,089 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1964 | #7,341 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1963 | #6,263 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1942 | #5,026 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1930 | #3,215 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1922 | #4,759 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1921 | #3,864 | 8 | 0.0006% |
| 1920 | #3,484 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1919 | #4,556 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1918 | #4,093 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1917 | #4,979 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1915 | #4,043 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1914 | #3,940 | 5 | 0.0007% |
| 1913 | #3,033 | 6 | 0.0010% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Lilith Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You always bring to completion anything you start. You are generous but like to see returns from your giving. You have an executive ability, you are a leader. You are moral, balanced, honest and intellectual, and you may attain spirituality. You are wise and practical with an appreciation of beauty. You always think before you act. You are intuitive and might be interested in the arts, drama or science.
You are very intuitive. You have a reservoir of inspired wisdom combined with inherited analytical ability, which could reward you through expressions of spiritual leadership, business analysis, marketing, artistic visions, and scientific research. Operating on spiritual side of your individuality can bring you to the great heights, and drop you off if you neglect your spiritual identity. You are always looking for an opportunity to investigate the unknown, to use and show your mental abilities, to find the purpose and meaning of life. You want to grow wise and to understand people and things. You need privacy to replenish your energy. You have a unique way of thinking, intuitive, reflective, absorbing.
✦ Lilith's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Lilith's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.