Liliana — Name Day, Meaning & Origin

Female Polish given name · rank 20 among female names (2024)

A romantic Polish female name associated with the lily flower.

Pronunciation

/li.ˈlja.na/ · lee-LYAH-nah

Meaning

Liliana is a melodious name most often linked to the lily — a symbol of purity, innocence and delicacy. It is also regarded as an elaborated, Latinate form of Lilian, related to Elizabeth.

Origin & history

The name took shape as a Latinate form of the English Lilian, its sound reinforcing the link to the Latin word for lily. Popular in the Romance languages, it reached Poland relatively recently and is gaining ground as a flowery, romantic name.

Etymology

The name blends two threads: the Latin lilium — "lily", and a descent from Lilian, a pet form of Elizabeth derived from the Hebrew Elisheva, "God is my oath".

Declension (Polish cases)

Nominative	Liliana
Genitive	Liliany
Dative	Lilianie
Accusative	Lilianę
Instrumental	Lilianą
Locative	Lilianie
Vocative	Liliano

Name day (imieniny)

In Poland, Liliana celebrates its name day on 14 February.

Diminutives

Lila, Lilka, Lilianka, Lilusia, Liluś.

Forms in other languages

Equivalents and related forms include Liliana (Italian, Spanish, Romanian), Liliane (French), Liljana (Macedonian, Albanian) and Lilianna or Lilia in the Slavic languages.

Notable people named Liliana

Liliana Cavani — Italian film director, known for "The Night Porter".

Liliana Komorowska — Polish film and theatre actress, also active in Canada.

Popularity

Liliana is growing in popularity in Poland and increasingly appears among names chosen for newborn girls.