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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Emily or Lily?

38 replies

danascully96 · 01/10/2020 20:17

I like these two names — which do you prefer? Is Lily a babyish name for an adult? Thanks 💖

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MikeUniformMike · 04/10/2020 09:31

@alexdgr8, she was Lillie Langtry.

Lucilia · 03/10/2020 15:49

Emily is lovely.

And yes it’s fairly common but it’s all about how you wear it! It’s popular for a reason IMO

And you can shorten it to Lily as a nickname!

alexdgr8 · 03/10/2020 15:37

Emily.
Lily immediately makes me think of Lily Langtry, which is not a good association.
by the way, i agree with your GM; Anna does sound foreign to me. nothing wrong with it, but not a traditional English name.

Honeyandapple · 03/10/2020 15:35

Emily. (But I really don't like smell of lily flowers, they make me sick. So it's easy)

snowone · 03/10/2020 15:33

Emily 💗

wishing3 · 03/10/2020 10:21

Emily, though both are nice.

quarantandrums · 03/10/2020 10:19

Personally I'd go with Emily as I think it looks better on an adult, though Lily is an equally beautiful name.

Mrsjayy · 03/10/2020 09:50

I know an old lady Lilly but you are going to hear adult Lilly as it is quite a popular name again, I prefer Emily, no reason just like it Smile

CharlieBoo · 03/10/2020 09:45

Emily is gorgeous... I don’t know why but I’m
Not a fan of lily x

MikeUniformMike · 03/10/2020 09:07

Both nice but Em is a lot nicer than Lil.

hollylouise1994 · 02/10/2020 19:36

Lily!

I like both a lot but I think Lily is just beautiful.

TheChristmasPrincess · 02/10/2020 14:51

I prefer Lily as it is seems sweeter and more wholesome. It can also fall into both vintage and modern categories so is the best of both worlds. It is very popular at the moment though, but as long as that doesn’t bother you it should be fine. Lillian is a little more sophisticated (if old ladyish) and can be shortened to Lily as a cute nickname.

Emily is traditional and a little boring in my opinion. I know a lot of Emily’s who were born in the 80s and 90s, so I think it’s popular but in a slightly outdated way. I do think Emily ages better though as it’s a classic and seems a more professional name.

Both are nice enough names 🙂

Anappleaday1 · 02/10/2020 14:26

I had the same dilemma 5 years ago, and went with Lily. In contrast to what's written here, what swayed me was that Lily was less popular of the two - although in most recent stats Lily is now more popular than Emily. When we chose, Emily was the third most popular name which still surprises me as I've only ever met one - so it must be regional. I do think Emily is less likely to date, it has been popular for a really long time but I don't think it has boomed in the same way Lily did.

Threeoleary · 01/10/2020 22:53

I think Emily sounds more flowing.....Lily is slightly abrupt to my ears.

Mammyloveswine · 01/10/2020 22:50

As a teacher, Emily.,

It was also always my dolls names when I was little..

daisypond · 01/10/2020 22:49

I prefer Lily. Emily is fine but dreary to me.

foxtiger · 01/10/2020 22:31

Emily. I don't dislike Lily (that spelling) but I think Emily is nicer.

Original poster
danascully96 · 01/10/2020 22:26

@MsTSwift Yeah, Emily’s very common among my age group over here, but less so with children. Lily less so among my age group, more common with children. I’ve literally never met an older Lily in my life, so my perception is skewed.

@DillyDallier I like that idea! It makes sense to me, but may be a bit too contrived; still, I am intrigued 🤔

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Dillydallier · 01/10/2020 22:17

I know an Emily who’s nickname is lily. Maybe you can have the best of both worlds?

MsTSwift · 01/10/2020 22:15

They’ve ok but in England both overused run of the type mill names.

Original poster
danascully96 · 01/10/2020 22:11

Yes, true, @SilenceOfTheEmu! But the name Emily isn’t in the top ten in my country (the US) and so maybe if it goes down in popularity in a few years and is replaced by the likes of Eleanor and Ethel, Emily might seem fresh someday. It’s got a lovely sound, as does Lily.

For my more exciting names, I have just not been able to get over how Charlotte has the word “harlot” in it (also, it’s extremely popular too) and that no one in my family likes the name Anna (my grandma said it sounds “foreign,” so I guess it wasn’t common when she was young). I know it’s popular on here, but for some reason my family really dislikes “Ann-” names :(

As a result, my more exciting options stoke quite a bit of anxiety in me. My partner isn’t helpful, he’s already decided Daniel will be our boy name. Emily and Daniel would be a cute sibset! Or Daniel and Lily 💕

If you have suggestions, please let me know :) I’m finicky as you can tell.

OP posts:
Kanaloa · 01/10/2020 22:09

Both are nice. I prefer Emily as there aren’t as many Emilys as there are girls named Lily.

Emma10702 · 01/10/2020 22:08

Both gorgeous names. I have an Emily. At first I wasn’t sure as it was quite popular in her elder sisters year but we don’t know any children the same age as her with the same name so maybe it’s less popular now.

SilenceOfTheEmu · 01/10/2020 21:59

In my opinion their both just blah boring bland names- also a bit dated!

JanewaysBun · 01/10/2020 21:56

Liliana? Lily on its own is nice but the Sarah of the 2010s

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