Male first name (French): Lilian; Latin (plant); lilium = the lily, as a male name is probably from the Latin 'lilium' (Lily), in France in the use of predominantly male (as opposed to the predominantly female 'Lilian' in English) Female first name (English):; (?) Lilian Lily, Old English (plants), the lily lilium = (Latin), possibly training of "Elizabeth" or its nickname 'Lili', emerged as the 16th Century, possibly from Latin 'lilium' (Lily)