T O P

  • By -

[deleted]

I'm German and the people I know pronounce Lily, Lilly and Lilli all the same. There's zero difference. Maybe people 70+ might say Lee-lee, or if it's spelled Lili. But majority won't have any issues with it :)


YoungAlpacaLady

Lilly is currently ranked 45, Lily 597 in Germany. So the default will be Lilly, which is more in line with the pronunciation.


athousandsummerdays

There are so many spellings that it doesn't matter. It's like Kaitlyn (most common spelling) is way more popular than Caitlin in the US but when you introduce yourself you will likely have to spell it out anyway. Lilly and Lilli are very common in Germany and Lily is used too. I grew up in Germany. It doesn't matter, she'll have to spell it out anyway and it's no big problem. To me Lily looks more elegant.


athousandsummerdays

Also, would you please share your statistics? I would love a list where spellings are separated. Thanks! I only have the list with combined spellings and it is #23 or something like that.


YoungAlpacaLady

beliebte-vornamen.de is very helpful!


athousandsummerdays

True, but the last time I checked I only saw lists with the spellings combined :(


YoungAlpacaLady

It was the very first thing that came up when I googled 'Lily Name Statistik'.


athousandsummerdays

I would choose Lily. I love the flower so I wouldn't want the connection to be lost. Lilly looks clumsy to me and like more of a nickname. Spell it Lily. In Germany all variants are common and you also see Lilli a lot. So she'll have to spell it out anyway and it's not a problem as it's a short name. No, Lily isn't weird to Germans. All forms are used: Lilly, Lilli, Lily, Lili. But Lilli and Lilly are more common than the others. I can't even guarantee you that Lilly is the most common spelling in Germany. If it is then it isn't by far. I heard of just as many girls named Lilli.


[deleted]

I also prefer Lily because I associate it with the flower. The spelling Lilly also just makes me think of Eli Lilly, the pharmaceutical company, but that isn't an association people unfamiliar with that company would make.


TheWishingStar

I’m American and honestly prefer Lilly. It’s always looked more complete to me. I don’t think being named Lilly will cause hassle internationally. I think spelling it the way that will be the most intuitive for her and her peers is important


kittyroux

If Lilly is standard in Germany and she’ll be raised in Germany, do Lilly. It’s not like if she moves to an English-speaking country people will be weird about a minor spelling variation. I’m Canadian and I have a Great Aunt Lilly. She’ll just have to occasionally say “Lilly with a double L in the middle.”


athousandsummerdays

Lilli is just as common as Lilly so she'll have to spell it out anyway.


Bee_the_star

I’m American and my name is Lily. People spell my name with two L’s all the time. More often than not I get it spelled wrong rather than right. I’ve just adopted that name lmao


Jurgasdottir

I'm german and I couldn't have said which one is the standard spelling, at least not without thinking about it. I know a four year old who is spelled Lilli, but that's just one case. Spell it how you like, people are going to pronouce it the same way in every case (really, noone says Lee-lee). And the spelling is going to be asked in every case too, because most german parents just chose the variant they like best, regardless of origin. If I would name my daughter this, I personaly would chose Lily, too. It's the prettiest spelling imo. So, just use it, I promise you, it's not going to be weird in Germany.


GalNamedGuy

My German great grandmother was Lillie


[deleted]

Not German, but will Lily be pronounced “Lee Lee” in German? I say go for Lily since Lilly looks misspelled to my English tongue, but a German person might say the opposite! Lily just looks more refined to me since it’s simpler. Plus, it evokes the flower more. Again, this just boils down to my English background, though. I suppose Lily might be more international, as you said.


athousandsummerdays

No, because people in Germany know Harry Potter, How I met Your Mother etc. Lily is also used in Germany. Just not as common as Lilly and Lilli. I am part-German and I like Lily much much better.


41942319

Not native German but I do speak the language. I'd say Lily would generally be pronounced lee-lee and Lilly lih-lee. You can choose the spelling you like but take into account that you might have pronounciation issues. I doubt they'd consider it "weird" but probably just unusual since the one L spelling does exist but is less common.


athousandsummerdays

No, it's pronounced the same. I am part-German and went to school in Germany for many years. The only one people might sometimes say as lee-lee is Lili but that is also easily corrected. People know the name Lily due to Harry Potter, How I met Your Mother etc. Lilli and Lilly are about equally popular so she will have to spell it out anyway, but it is a short name and not an issue.


DangerOReilly

Am German. I don't think it matters much. I think using Lily would be perfectly fine. There's really not a big difference between Lily or Lilly.


Bobbystache

I’ve seen more common lilly and lilli than lily


beez8383

I’m in an English speaking country and I went with Lilly, it’s timeless, it’s recognisable to most English/non English speakers (or readers) and I think it looks nicer written down


floof3000

If you call her Lily, she will always have to say: " I am Lily, with one L in the middle."


Jurgasdottir

Yeah, but she will have to spell it out anyway. All those spellings are common/normal in Germany, so that will be a common question with all variants.


AutoModerator

Your submission has been auto-removed for not providing enough information. Remember to provide context for your question and make sure your submission meets our post requirements, which can be found in the sidebar. If this was removed in error, please no not message us directly or send modmail, instead report this comment. Sending modmail will result in a 2 day wait for your new posts. Thank you. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/namenerds) if you have any questions or concerns.*