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You should do it. I love Lillian over Lily anyday.

It's my favorite name. When I have a daughter her name will be Lillian (unless my husband really hates it :( )

It's my grandmother's name, so I'm very inclined to use it in her honor. It is everything you just said; classic, spunky, pretty. I love it. I agree, the popularity is a problem. One thing you could do is use a less common first name with Lillian as the MN, and then call her Lillian anyway. A lot of people I know do this; one of my good friends was named Emily but goes by her middle name, Reiss.

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Here are some suggestions for combos:

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Adelaida Lillian
Genevieve Lillian
Eva Lillian
Soraya Lillian
Maria Lillian
Georgia Lillian
Helena Lillian
Estella Lillian
Jillian Lillian (just kidding)
Martina Lillian
Samara Lillian
Dorothea Lillian
Titania Lillian
Anastasia Lillian
Katerina Lillian
Shoshana Lillian
Shaina Lillian
Susannah Lillian
Saskia Lillian
Oriana Lillian
Juliana Lillian
Naomi Lillian

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Any of these work?

It's very nice as a stand-alone name. I don't care much for Lily.

Lillian is beautiful, but if you're worried about popularity, why not choose the French Liliane (lil-ee-AHN) or Scottish Lilias?

There was a Lilian at school, and I used to pity her having an old lady's name.
How things change! It does seem to be rising in the wake of Lily.
I think it's pretty but I always think of it having just one L. To me, one L is sufficient, because there's only one L in Lily. Having said that, Lillian might be arguably prettier.

This message was edited 12/29/2008, 8:50 AM

I love Lillian. It's a beautiful name.

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I also prefer it without a nickname, but wouldn't mind Lil or Lillie on occasion.

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I would be hesitant to use it as a first name... I think it would be easy enough to keep people from calling her Lillie/Lily (all or most of the time) when she was little, but the more she got out into the world independently, the harder it could be (especially if she didn't put her foot down about it). And then, too, she could grow up to want to just be called Lillie/Lily, which I would respect, but not be happy about. Lillian is so much nicer than Lillie/Lily!