Lilliana

Lilliana stretches Lily into something more operatic, a blossoming of the Latin lilium through Italian and Spanish tongues. The double L gives it a lilting, almost sung quality, three soft syllables that unfurl like petals. It is a cousin to Liliana and Lillianna, all variations on a theme that has gained real traction in American nurseries, currently hovering in the low 400s. The name carries an old Catholic association with purity and the Madonna lily, but in contemporary use it feels more like a garden in June than a cathedral. Nicknames come easily: Lily, Lili, Anna, Liana.