Lilias

English

Alternative forms

• Lillias

Etymology

First recorded in 16th-century Scotland, a variant of Lilian or possibly from the Spanish Liliosa, name of a 9th-century saint, both ultimately from Late Latin lilium (“lily”).

Proper noun

Lilias

1. A female given name from Latin.
   • 1864, Frances Eleanor Trollope, The Tale of Aunt Margaret's Trouble, in All the Year Round, Aug 11th, 1866, page 100

     "Poor little thing! She is very wee and frail, isn't she? Only two months old. We came away from the north, as soon as I was able to travel. She is called Lily."

     I remembered Horace having once told me that his mother's name had been Lilias.

   • 1909, Frances Hodgson Burnett, chapter XXVII, in The Secret Garden:

     "Lilias! Lilias!" he answered. "Lilias! Where are you?"
     "In the garden," it came back like a sound from a golden flute.