Have you ever wondered whether Lily or Lilly is the correct spelling of a popular name? While both Lily and Lilly look almost identical, the extra L can make a difference when you’re choosing a name, checking someone’s spelling, or deciding which version is more common.
Lily is the more common spelling of the name and is traditionally associated with the lily flower, which often symbolizes purity, beauty, and innocence. Lilly is also a valid spelling, but it is generally considered a spelling variation of Lily rather than a completely different name.
Examples:
- Lily is a beautiful and widely used name.
- Lilly is an alternative spelling of the same name.
The confusion is understandable. People often search for Lily or Lilly, Lily vs Lilly, which spelling is correct Lily or Lilly, or is Lilly a correct spelling because both versions are used in English. And here’s the kicker: choosing between them often comes down to personal preference, tradition, and how you want the name to look.
In this guide, you’ll learn the difference between Lily and Lilly, their meaning, origin, pronunciation, and popularity. You’ll also discover whether Lily or Lilly is more common, how each spelling is used, and which version may be the better choice for a name.
Lily vs. Lilly: The Key Difference
The easiest way to remember Lily vs. Lilly is to separate ordinary words from proper names.
Lily is the standard spelling of the flower. When you write about a lily growing in a garden, a lily in a vase, or several lilies blooming in spring, use lily.
Lilly can be perfectly correct when it belongs to a specific name.
For example:
- The lily is one of the flowers in the garden.
- Lily brought flowers to the party.
- Lilly brought flowers to the party.
The last two sentences can both be correct. The spelling depends on the person’s name.
That distinction matters because English doesn’t “correct” a person’s proper name to match the dictionary spelling of a related common noun. If someone’s legal or established name is Lilly, changing it to Lily would simply be a spelling error.
Think of it like this: common words follow language conventions; personal names follow the person’s established spelling.
Lily as a Common Noun
When lily refers to the plant or flower, it functions as a common noun.
Examples include:
- The lily needs suitable growing conditions.
- A white lily stood in the vase.
- The garden contains several lilies.
- The lily pad floated on the pond.
Cambridge describes the lily as a plant with large, often bell-shaped flowers. It also lists several familiar expressions containing the word, including water lily, day lily, Easter lily, tiger lily, and lily pad.
Lily as a Given Name
Lily is also used as a given name. In that context, it becomes a proper noun and takes a capital letter.
For example:
- Lily called after school.
- Lily is learning to play the piano.
- The invitation was addressed to Lily.
The name is closely associated with the flower, which is why the same spelling works naturally in both contexts.
Lilly as a Personal Name
Lilly can also be a person’s actual name.
For example:
- Lilly joined the team this year.
- I sent the message to Lilly.
- Lilly signed the form.
There is no reason to change Lilly to Lily simply because lily is the standard spelling of the flower.
That would be like changing someone’s name from Katherine to Catherine because both forms exist. Names are personal identifiers, not spelling exercises.
Is Lily or Lilly the Correct Spelling of the Flower?
If you’re asking specifically about the flower, lily is the correct standard spelling.
Not:
- ❌ lilly
- ❌ Lilli
- ❌ lili
- ❌ lilly flower
The standard form is:
- ✅ lily
- ✅ lily flower
- ✅ lilies
Cambridge lists lily as the noun and lilies as its plural. Merriam-Webster likewise gives lily with the plural lilies and traces the word through Middle English lilie and Old English from Latin lilium.
Why “Lilly” Looks Like It Could Be Correct
The confusion is understandable.
English has many words in which a consonant doubles before a suffix or changes as part of spelling. Names also frequently have alternative spellings. As a result, Lilly looks perfectly plausible as the name of a flower.
But plausibility isn’t the same as standard usage.
The dictionary form is lily.
A quick memory trick helps:
One flower: lily. More than one: lilies.
The double l belongs to some proper names, not to the standard spelling of the flower.
Can Lilly Be a Correct Spelling?
Absolutely.
The important question is what “Lilly” refers to.
Lilly as a First Name
Some people are named Lilly rather than Lily.
That means both of these can be correct:
- Lily Johnson
- Lilly Johnson
The correct version depends entirely on the person’s actual name.
You shouldn’t assume that a person named Lilly has misspelled their name. The extra l can be an intentional part of the name.
Lilly as a Surname
Lilly also exists as a surname.
Genealogical sources document several possible origins for the surname, including connections to medieval personal names associated with the flower and separate English place-name origins. FamilySearch, drawing on the Dictionary of American Family Names, identifies English and Irish routes for the surname rather than treating every Lilly family as having one single origin.
That makes an important point: a surname’s spelling and history don’t have to follow the modern spelling of an ordinary English word.
Historical records contain forms such as Lylie, Lilie, Lylly, and related spellings. Surnames evolved over centuries, often through regional pronunciation, family usage, and place names.
Lilly in a Company Name
Proper names can also contain Lilly.
A well-known example is Eli Lilly and Company, the Indianapolis based pharmaceutical company. Its official website uses the spelling Lilly, and its corporate materials identify the company as Eli Lilly and Company.
That doesn’t make lilly an alternative spelling of the flower. It simply shows how a spelling can be correct inside a proper name.
This is a useful distinction:
| Context | Form |
| The flower | lily |
| A person named Lily | Lily |
| A person named Lilly | Lilly |
| Eli Lilly and Company | Lilly |
| Plural flower form | lilies |
Is Lilly a Real Name?
Yes. Lilly is an established personal name and surname.
The existence of Lilly as a name doesn’t mean that lilly is the standard dictionary spelling of the flower. These are two separate questions.
Consider the difference:
Question: How do you spell the flower?
Answer: lily
Question: How do you spell your friend’s name?
Answer: Whatever spelling your friend uses.
That distinction resolves most Lily vs. Lilly confusion in seconds.
Alternative spellings often develop naturally in personal names. Families may preserve a particular spelling across generations, parents may choose a variant for a child, and historical records can produce different forms of the same name.
So if a birth certificate, passport, school record, email signature, or other official source says Lilly, that’s the spelling to use.
Is Lily or Lilly More Common as a Name?
Lily is the more conventional spelling of the flower based name, while Lilly is an established variant.
The important point isn’t to treat one as “real” and the other as “fake.” Both can function as personal names.
Name spellings are more flexible than ordinary dictionary words. Parents can choose a spelling, and families can preserve one. That means a name can be perfectly legitimate even when it differs from the related common noun.
For example:
- Rose is a flower and a name.
- Rosie is a name.
- Lily is a flower and a name.
- Lilly is an established name spelling.
The spelling Lilly therefore doesn’t need to be justified as a flower spelling. It has its own use as a proper name.
Lily vs. Lilly in American and British English
One of the biggest misconceptions about Lily vs. Lilly is that the difference represents American and British English.
It doesn’t.
Lily is the standard spelling for the flower in both varieties of English.
Cambridge’s dictionary gives the same word, pronunciation, and plural lilies across its English entries.
So this isn’t like:
- American color vs. British colour
- American favorite vs. British favourite
- American center vs. British centre
The flower remains lily.
Is Lilly the British Spelling?
No.
British English doesn’t normally spell the flower lilly.
If someone writes:
The garden was full of lilly flowers.
the standard spelling is:
The garden was full of lily flowers.
If the sentence says:
Lilly visited the garden.
then Lilly may be completely correct because it could be a person’s name.
The difference comes from context, not nationality.
Lily vs. Lilly Comparison Table
Here’s the simplest way to see the distinction:
| Feature | Lily | Lilly |
| Standard flower spelling | Yes | No |
| Common given name | Yes | Yes |
| Personal name variant | Yes | Yes |
| Surname | Yes, possible | Yes |
| Standard plural of flower | Lilies | Not applicable |
| American English flower spelling | Lily | No |
| British English flower spelling | Lily | No |
| Company or organization name | Depends on official name | Depends on official name |
| Proper name | Yes | Yes |
The most important row is the first one.
If you’re talking about the flower itself, write “lily.”
How to Use Lily in a Sentence
The word lily appears in several types of sentences, from gardening descriptions to figurative expressions.
Lily as a Flower
Examples:
- The lily opened in the afternoon sun.
- She placed a white lily in a glass vase.
- The garden has several varieties of lily.
- A lily grew beside the pond.
- The florist arranged the lilies in a tall vase.
The plural is particularly important. If you’re talking about more than one flower, don’t simply add s.
Use:
lily → lilies
Lily as a Person’s Name
When Lily is a person’s name, capitalize it.
Examples:
- Lily arrived early.
- I spoke with Lily yesterday.
- Lily sent the invitation.
- The teacher asked Lily to read the passage.
Here, the word no longer functions as the common noun for the flower. It’s a proper name.
Lily in Compound Terms
The word also appears in established plant names and expressions.
Examples include:
- water lily
- lily pad
- tiger lily
- day lily
- Easter lily
- lily of the valley
Cambridge lists a broad range of compounds and plant names containing lily.
One useful botanical caution: not every plant with “lily” in its common name belongs to the genus Lilium. Common plant names can be broader than scientific classifications. For example, the water lily is not a true Lilium species. Historical botanical references have long noted this difference.
How to Use Lilly in a Sentence
When Lilly is a person’s name or another proper name, preserve the exact spelling.
Examples:
- Lilly called this morning.
- The invitation was addressed to Lilly.
- Lilly Smith joined the meeting.
- I spoke with Lilly about the project.
- The company is Eli Lilly and Company.
The key isn’t whether Lilly looks unusual. The key is whether that is the established spelling of the proper name.
A Simple Name Rule
When you’re unsure about someone’s name, don’t guess.
Check:
- Their email signature
- Their official profile
- Their business card
- Their published work
- The spelling they personally provide
A person’s name is not something to “correct” based on a dictionary entry for a related word.
What Is the Plural of Lily?
The plural of lily is lilies.
This is one of the most common spelling questions connected with the word.
| Singular | Plural |
| lily | lilies |
| one lily | two lilies |
| a lily | many lilies |
Examples:
- One lily grew near the fence.
- Three lilies bloomed overnight.
- The florist delivered twenty lilies.
- Several lilies filled the garden with color.
Why Is It “Lilies” Instead of “Lilys”?
The spelling changes from y to ie before the plural s.
So:
lily → lilies
The same pattern appears in other English words ending in a consonant plus y:
- baby → babies
- city → cities
- story → stories
- family → families
Therefore:
- ❌ lilys
- ❌ lillys
- ✅ lilies
If you’re writing about the flowers, lilies is the form to use.
Why Do People Confuse Lily and Lilly?
The confusion has a few straightforward causes.
They Sound the Same
In ordinary English pronunciation, lily and Lilly are generally pronounced the same way.
That means you can’t rely on sound to determine the spelling.
Someone can say:
“My name is Lilly.”
and the listener may have no idea whether it is spelled Lily, Lilly, Lillie, or another variant.
The spelling has to come from the name itself.
They Differ by Only One Letter
Visually, the two forms are nearly identical:
Lily
Lilly
That extra l is easy to overlook, especially in usernames, emails, handwritten notes, and fast typing.
Lilly Is a Genuine Proper Name
This is probably the biggest source of confusion.
People encounter Lilly in real life, so they naturally assume it might be an alternative spelling of the flower.
But seeing Lilly as a person’s name doesn’t change the standard spelling of the common noun.
English Has Many Name Variants
Personal names don’t always follow the same rules as ordinary vocabulary.
For example, names can have established variants such as:
- Katherine / Catherine
- Sara / Sarah
- Steven / Stephen
- Lily / Lilly / Lillie
That flexibility is normal in names.
Where Does the Word Lily Come From?
The history of lily goes much further back than modern English.
Merriam-Webster traces the English word through Middle English lilie and Old English, ultimately connecting it with Latin lilium. It records the first known English use as before the 12th century.
The botanical genus Lilium also comes from Latin lilium. Merriam-Webster identifies lilium as a New Latin form derived from Latin for the lily.
That long history explains why lily is not a recently standardized spelling. It has been part of English vocabulary for centuries.
The word also appears in related forms across European languages. The underlying Latin form has influenced words associated with the lily in several languages.
Lily and the Latin Lilium
The connection is especially clear in botanical terminology:
English: lily
Scientific genus: Lilium
Latin source: lilium
The everyday English word and the scientific genus are therefore closely related linguistically, even though the everyday word lily can be used more broadly than the scientific genus.
Is Lilly a Different Flower?
No.
There isn’t a standard flower called a “lilly” that makes lilly an alternative spelling of lily.
If you’re writing about a flower and mean the plant commonly called a lily, use lily.
The fact that Lilly appears in personal names, surnames, and company names doesn’t create a separate standard flower spelling.
This distinction becomes especially useful when proofreading.
Example
Suppose a gardening article says:
The lilly produces large, colorful flowers.
The standard correction is:
The lily produces large, colorful flowers.
Now suppose the same article says:
Lilly Smith grows lilies in her backyard.
There is nothing wrong with Lilly if that is Smith’s actual name.
Same letters. Different job.
A Real World Example: Eli Lilly and Company
A useful real world example is Eli Lilly and Company.
The company’s official materials use Lilly as part of its corporate name. Its current corporate information identifies it as Eli Lilly and Company and lists its headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The company also reports that it was founded on May 10, 1876, and remains headquartered in Indianapolis. As of June 30, 2026, its official key facts page lists 51,168 employees worldwide.
That example demonstrates why context matters.
Lilly is correct in:
Eli Lilly and Company
But it would not be correct to conclude from that that the flower can normally be spelled lilly.
Case Study: Same Letters, Different Context
Consider these three sentences:
The lily is blooming.
Lily is visiting today.
Lilly works for Eli Lilly and Company.
All three can be correct.
The first uses lily as a common noun.
The second uses Lily as a person’s name.
The third uses Lilly as a proper name.
The spelling follows the identity and function of the word, not simply its pronunciation.
Common Spelling Mistakes With Lily and Lilly
A few mistakes appear again and again.
Mistake: Using Lilly for the Flower
❌ The lilly is beautiful.
✅ The lily is beautiful.
The standard dictionary spelling is lily.
Mistake: Writing Lilys as the Plural
❌ The garden has several lilys.
✅ The garden has several lilies.
Mistake: Writing Lillys as the Flower Plural
❌ The vase contains six lillys.
✅ The vase contains six lilies.
The double l doesn’t belong in the standard singular flower spelling, so it doesn’t belong in the standard plural either.
Mistake: Changing Someone’s Name
Suppose someone introduces herself as Lilly.
Writing Lily afterward isn’t an improvement. It’s simply using the wrong name.
Correct:
Thank you, Lilly, for your help.
Not:
Thank you, Lily, for your help.
when her actual name is Lilly.
Mistake: Calling Lilly a British Spelling
❌ Lilly is the British spelling.
✅ Lily is the standard spelling in both American and British English.
The difference isn’t geographical. It’s contextual.
Lily or Lilly: Which One Should You Use?
Use this quick guide when you’re writing.
Use “lily” when:
- You mean the flower.
- You’re discussing gardening.
- You’re describing a plant.
- You’re talking about more than one lily and need lilies.
- You’re using the standard common noun.
- You’re writing a general statement about lilies.
“Lily” when:
- Someone’s given name is Lily.
- A proper name is officially spelled Lily.
- You’re reproducing a person’s name exactly.
- “Lilly” when:
- Someone’s given name is Lilly.
- Lilly is someone’s surname.
- An organization or company officially uses Lilly.
- You’re reproducing an established proper name.
The rule is remarkably simple:
Flower = lily. Person or proper name = use the official spelling.
Lily vs. Lilly Quick Examples
| Sentence | Correct? | Why |
| The lily is blooming. | ✅ | Standard flower spelling |
| The lilly is blooming. | ❌ | Not the standard flower spelling |
| Lily called me. | ✅ | Lily is a given name |
| Lilly called me. | ✅ | Lilly can be a given name |
| Three lilies are blooming. | ✅ | Correct plural |
| Three lilys are blooming. | ❌ | Incorrect plural |
| Three lillys are blooming. | ❌ | Incorrect flower spelling and plural |
| Lilly signed the document. | ✅ | Lilly can be a person’s name |
| Eli Lilly and Company | ✅ | Official corporate name |
| Lilly is the British spelling of lily. | ❌ | Not a US vs. UK spelling distinction |
Frequently Asked Questions About Lily or Lilly
Is Lily or Lilly the correct spelling?
Lily is the standard spelling for the flower. Lilly can also be correct when it is someone’s personal name, surname, or another proper name.
Is Lilly a real name?
Yes. Lilly is an established spelling used as a personal name and surname. Historical surname sources document multiple origins for Lilly, including links to medieval personal names and English place names.
Is Lilly the British spelling of Lily?
No. Lily is the standard spelling of the flower in both American and British English. Cambridge gives the same spelling and the plural lilies.
Is “lilly” correct for the flower?
No. The standard English spelling is lily.
Can a person’s name be spelled Lilly?
Yes. A person’s name can legitimately be spelled Lilly. Always use the person’s actual spelling.
What is the plural of lily?
The plural is lilies.
lily → lilies
Is Lily a flower or a name?
It can be both. Lily is the common English word for a group of flowering plants and is also used as a given name.
Is Lilly a different type of lily flower?
No. Lilly isn’t the standard alternative spelling of the flower. It is more commonly encountered as a proper name, surname, or part of a proper name.
Should you spell someone’s name Lily or Lilly?
Use the spelling that person uses. If their name is Lilly, don’t change it to Lily.
Is “lilys” the plural of lily?
No. The correct plural is lilies.
Is “lillys” the plural of Lilly?
For the flower, no. The flower is lily, and its plural is lilies. A proper name such as Lilly doesn’t automatically create a standard plural form because names are normally used as names rather than as counts of flowers.
Final Verdict: Lily or Lilly?
The Lily vs. Lilly question becomes easy once you separate the flower from proper names.
Lily is the standard English spelling of the flower. Its plural is lilies. Both American and British English use lily, so Lilly isn’t a British alternative spelling.
Lilly, meanwhile, can be completely correct when it’s someone’s first name, surname, or part of an official proper name. Historical surname sources also show that Lilly has its own documented history rather than being nothing more than a modern misspelling of lily.
The simplest rule is worth remembering:
If you mean the flower, use “lily.” If you mean a person, use that person’s actual spelling.
So:
- lily = the flower
- lilies = more than one flower
- Lily = a common given name
- Lilly = an established personal name or surname
- Eli Lilly = a proper name
One extra l can look like a tiny detail. In writing, though, context is what makes the difference.
