Lilly

/ˈlɪl.i/

//ˈlɪl.i// name

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"lilly" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Lilly” sits in 18 confusable pairs (corpus #14,160) as a proper noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#14,160
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
18
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A female given name, variant of Lily.

Corpus desk

Index EN-lilly · Lilly · English

Lilly · rank #14,160 · 4 variants · 18 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #14,160
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 18 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH Levi

Nearest frequency peer: Levi (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “Lilly”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “Lilly” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Lilly vs LLL
20% similar
Lilly vs lily
60% similar
Lilly vs lull
40% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for Lilly
PropertyValue
HeadwordLilly
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ˈlɪl.i/
Letters5
Frequency rank#14,160
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs18
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “Lilly”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).Lillylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “Levi” (#14,159), “Malta” (#14,161), “lest” (#14,158). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “Lilly” is #14,160. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for Lilly is neighbouring look-alikes ("LLL", "lily", …), not just typos; it is aproper noun pronounced /ˈlɪl.i/. Frequency #14,160 among 2,297 “L” headwords. 5 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for Lilly, with forms such as "illly", "lillyy", and "lilyl". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 18 confusable-pair relationships, "LLL", "lily", "lull", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct English form is Lilly, spelled L-I-L-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A female given name, variant of Lily.
  2. 2
    A female given name, variant of Lily.
  3. 3
    A female given name, variant of Lily.
  4. 4
    A surname.
  5. 5
    A surname.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how Lilly appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The woman at the center of the controversy, Lilly Gaddis, referred to her friends’ husbands as “broke ass n***s” in the clip—dropping the racial slur in a slight southern drawl so naturally, many speculated she must use it in casual conversation.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • illly
  • lillyy
  • lilyl
  • llilly

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Lilly - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

illly2lillyy1lilyl2llilly1
Edit distance from "Lilly"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Lilly"?
"Lilly" is spelled L-I-L-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈlɪl.i/.
What does "Lilly" mean?
As a proper noun, "Lilly" means: A female given name, variant of Lily.
What words are commonly confused with "Lilly"?
"Lilly" is commonly confused with "LLL", "lily", "lull". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Lilly"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Lilly" is /ˈlɪl.i/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Lilly" come from?
"Lilly" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Lilly", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Malta#14,161Kylie#14,153Jenna#14,149Jaime#14,148

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list