Lilith
Meaning
figure from Jewish folklore, traditionally "of the night"
The story
Lilith arrives carrying an argument. In medieval Jewish folklore, she became the defiant first wife of Adam, a night figure who refused the obedient role later storytellers assigned to women. That is folklore, not the biblical Genesis story, but it gave the name a shadow that lasted for centuries. Modern culture learned to turn that shadow toward the light. The coolly formidable Lilith Sternin walked through Cheers and Frasier without apologizing for her intelligence, while Lilith Fair placed the name above a festival built around women musicians. Neither use makes the old figure simple or harmless. Together they show why the name can feel like reclamation rather than surrender. Its sound is soft, almost whispered; its history is anything but. Families who consider Lilith are not choosing a blank page. They are meeting a name that has moved from cautionary tale to cultural banner, and deciding what defiance should mean in a new life.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Lilith peaked in the 2020s.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
420 people · the #15,081 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 500,000 · median age 11
Among people named Lilith living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2000s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 109 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Lilith
Most people given the name Lilith in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Lilith deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Lilith truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Lilith fits with your family’s names and surname.
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