Is it Lily or Lilly? If you’re talking about the flower, the standard English spelling is lily. If you’re talking about a person’s name, both Lily and Lilly can be correct the right choice is whatever spelling that person actually uses. For more than one flower, the plural is lilies, not “lilys” or “lillys.” Cambridge lists lily as the English word for the flowering plant and gives lilies as its plural.

The confusion happens because Lilly is a legitimate personal name spelling. It also appears in established proper names such as Eli Lilly and Company, so seeing “Lilly” doesn’t necessarily mean someone has made a spelling mistake.

Lily or Lilly? The Quick Answer

Here’s the easiest way to remember it:

Meaning	Correct spelling
The flower	lily
A person named Lily	Lily
A person named Lilly	Lilly
More than one flower	lilies
A company or other proper name	Use its official spelling

So if you’re writing:

“The white ___ is blooming.”

Write lily.

If you’re writing:

“___ called me yesterday.”

It could be Lily or Lilly, depending on the person’s actual name.

That’s the key distinction: ordinary English words follow standard spelling conventions, while personal names follow the spelling assigned to that person.

When Should You Use “Lily”?

Use lily when you’re referring to the flower or plant.

For example:

• The lily is blooming.
• She bought a white lily.
• The garden is full of lilies.
• A pink lily was floating beside the pond.

Cambridge defines lily as a plant with large, usually bell-shaped flowers and lists related expressions such as water lily, tiger lily, Easter lily, lily pad, and lily of the valley.

The lowercase form is normally used when you’re talking about the common noun:

The lily needs more sunlight.

If you’re using it as somebody’s name, however, capitalize it:

Lily called this morning.

The spelling stays similar, but the function of the word changes.

When Is “Lilly” Correct?

Lilly can be completely correct when it is a proper name.

For example:

Lilly sent me an email.

If that person’s name is officially spelled Lilly, changing it to “Lily” would not improve the spelling. It would change the person’s name.

Lilly is documented as an English variant of Lily as a personal name.

It can also appear as a surname or inside another established proper name.

A prominent U.S. example is Eli Lilly and Company. The company’s official materials and SEC filings use that exact spelling.

So these can all be correct:

• The lily is beautiful.
• Lily is coming over.
• Lilly is coming over.
• Eli Lilly and Company is the official corporate name.

The spelling depends on what the word represents.

Lily vs. Lilly at a Glance

Feature	Lily	Lilly
Standard flower spelling	Yes	No
Given name	Yes	Yes
Name variant	Yes	Yes
Surname	Possible	Possible
Flower plural	lilies	Not applicable
U.S. flower spelling	lily	Not standard
U.K. flower spelling	lily	Not standard
Company/proper name	Depends on official name	Depends on official name

The most important row is the first:

Flower → lily.

Person → use the person’s actual spelling.

Is Lilly the British Spelling of Lily?

No.

This is one of the most common misunderstandings surrounding the two spellings.

Lily is the standard spelling of the flower in both American and British English. Cambridge’s U.S. and U.K. dictionary entries use the same basic spelling.

It’s therefore not comparable to spelling differences such as:

• American color / British colour
• American center / British centre
• American favorite / British favourite

For the flower, the spelling remains:

lily

So:

❌ The British spelling is lilly.

✅ Both American and British English use lily for the flower.

Lilly can still be a perfectly legitimate British person’s name, of course. That’s a proper-name issue, not a British spelling rule.

Are Lily and Lilly Pronounced the Same?

In ordinary English, Lily and Lilly are normally pronounced the same way.

Behind the Name gives Lilly’s English pronunciation as /ˈlɪl.i/.

That’s one reason the spelling can be confusing.

If someone says:

“My name is Lilly.”

you generally cannot determine from the sound alone whether the person spells it:

• Lily
• Lilly
• or another established variant.

You need to see the person’s preferred spelling.

This is especially important when writing:

• emails
• invitations
• certificates
• school records
• resumes
• social media posts
• business documents

If you’re unsure, check the spelling rather than guessing.

What Is the Plural of Lily?

The plural of lily is:

lilies

Not:

lilys ❌

lillys ❌

lillies ❌

Correct:

One lily is blooming.

Three lilies are blooming.

Cambridge explicitly gives lilies as the plural form.

This follows the familiar English spelling pattern in which a word ending in a consonant + y changes the y to ie before the plural s:

• lily → lilies
• baby → babies
• city → cities
• story → stories

So if you’re talking about several flowers, remember:

lily → lilies

Why Do People Confuse Lily and Lilly?

There are several straightforward reasons.

1. They sound the same

Pronunciation doesn’t tell you whether the name has one or two L’s.

2. They look almost identical

Compare:

Lily

Lilly

Only one letter separates them.

3. Lilly really is used as a name

This is important.

“Lilly” isn’t simply a random typo that never appears in legitimate English. It is an established personal-name variant.

4. Proper names are more flexible

A dictionary word has a standard spelling.

A person’s name can have an established spelling chosen by a family or individual.

That’s why you shouldn’t automatically “correct” Lilly to Lily when you’re writing someone’s name.

read more >>> is it mama or mamma

Lily vs. Lilly in U.S. Names

The distinction becomes particularly interesting when looking at U.S. baby-name data.

Public SSA-based data for 2025 show:

• Lily: 6,673 recorded births; rank #18 among U.S. girls’ names.
• Lilly: 1,218 recorded births; rank #252.

This illustrates that both spellings are genuinely used as names in the United States, while Lily is the more frequently recorded spelling in that dataset.

That doesn’t mean Lilly is “incorrect.”

It means that name popularity and dictionary spelling are two different questions.

Compare:

“What is the correct spelling of the flower?”

Answer: lily

versus:

“How does this person spell her name?”

Answer: whatever spelling she uses.

Real Examples: Which Spelling Should You Use?

Talking about the flower

✅ The lily is my favorite flower.

❌ The lilly is my favorite flower.

Talking about several flowers

✅ The garden is full of lilies.

❌ The garden is full of lilys.

Talking about a person named Lily

✅ Lily sent me the address.

Talking about a person named Lilly

✅ Lilly sent me the address.

Both sentences can be correct because the person’s name determines the spelling.

Referring to Eli Lilly

✅ Eli Lilly and Company

This is a proper name, so you preserve the organization’s official spelling.

Writing a school assignment about flowers

Use:

The lily is a flowering plant…

not:

The lilly is a flowering plant…

Writing a birthday card

If the recipient’s name is Lilly:

Happy birthday, Lilly!

Don’t “correct” her name to Lily.

Common Lily and Lilly Mistakes

Mistake 1: Writing “lilly” for the flower

❌ The lilly opened this morning.

✅ The lily opened this morning.

Mistake 2: Writing “lilys”

❌ There are five lilys in the garden.

✅ There are five lilies in the garden.

Mistake 3: Writing “lillies”

❌ The florist delivered white lillies.

✅ The florist delivered white lilies.

Mistake 4: Changing someone’s name

If a person is named Lilly, don’t change it to Lily simply because lily is the flower spelling.

Correct:

Thank you, Lilly, for your help.

Mistake 5: Assuming Lilly is British English

It isn’t.

For the flower:

U.S. English → lily

British English → lily

The distinction is context, not nationality.

Is Lilly a Misspelling of Lily?

Not necessarily.

If you’re talking about the flower, lilly is not the standard spelling.

But if you’re talking about someone whose name is Lilly, it is not a misspelling at all.

That’s the important distinction.

Think of these as separate categories:

lily → standard flower word

Lily → personal name

Lilly → established personal-name spelling/proper name

The same sequence of sounds can therefore lead to different written forms.

Is Lily a Flower or a Name?

Both.

As a lowercase common noun:

The lily is blooming.

As a capitalized personal name:

Lily is coming to dinner.

The context tells you which role the word is performing.

This is also why capitalization matters:

• lily → flower/common noun
• Lily → person’s name
• Lilly → person’s name or another proper name, when officially spelled that way

Is Lilly a Different Type of Flower?

No, not as a standard English spelling.

If you’re referring to the flowering plant commonly called a lily, the standard word is lily.

Seeing “Lilly” in a person’s name, surname, or company name does not create a second standard spelling for the flower.

For example:

Lilly planted a lily.

Both forms can appear in the same sentence because they are doing different jobs.

What About Lily and Lillian?

Lily can be used as a name on its own and can also be related to names such as Lillian.

Lilly can likewise be used as a personal-name variant.

The important point is that there is no spelling requirement that forces someone’s nickname or given name to use the same spelling as the flower.

If a person officially uses Lilly, preserve that spelling.

The Easiest Way to Remember Lily vs. Lilly

Use this three-part rule:

🌸 Flower

lily

👤 Person

Lily or Lilly, depending on their actual name

🌸🌸🌸 More than one flower

lilies

That’s all you need for most everyday situations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Lily or Lilly the correct spelling?

For the flower, the standard spelling is lily. For a person’s name, Lily and Lilly can both be correct, depending on the person’s actual spelling.

Is Lilly a real name?

Yes. Lilly is an established personal-name variant of Lily.

Is Lilly the British spelling of Lily?

No. British English uses lily for the flower, just as American English does.

Is “lilly” correct for the flower?

No. The standard English spelling is lily.

Can a person’s name be spelled Lilly?

Yes. Lilly can be someone’s actual first name or another proper name. Use the spelling that person or organization officially uses.

What is the plural of lily?

The correct plural is lilies.

Are Lily and Lilly pronounced differently?

Normally, no. The two spellings are generally pronounced the same, which is one reason they’re easy to confuse.

Is Lily more common than Lilly as a U.S. name?

In the 2025 U.S. baby-name data cited above, Lily was recorded much more frequently than Lilly: 6,673 births versus 1,218.

Should I write “lily flower” or “lilly flower”?

Use lily flower if you’re referring to the plant. Lilly should only be retained when it is part of an actual proper name.

Is “lilys” the plural of lily?

No. The plural is lilies.

Is “lillies” correct?

No, when you mean the flowers. The standard plural is lilies.

Final Answer: Is It Lily or Lilly?

The answer depends on what you’re referring to.

If you mean the flower, use “lily.”

If you mean a person, use that person’s actual name: Lily or Lilly.

And If you mean multiple flowers, use “lilies.”

And Lilly is not the British spelling of lily. American and British English both use lily for the flower.

The simplest rule is:

Flower = lily. Person = use their spelling. Plural flowers = lilies.

That one distinction resolves almost every “is it Lily or Lilly?” spelling question.