from a pet form of the female personal name
Elizabeth. Compare Hibbs 2.
nickname for someone
with very fair hair or skin, from Middle English, Old English
lilie ‘lily’ (Latin lilium). The Italian equivalent
Giglio was used as a personal name in the Middle Ages. In
English and other languages there has also been some confusion with
forms of Giles.
habitational name from places called
Lilley, in Hertfordshire and Berkshire. The Hertfordshire place was
named in Old English as ‘flax-glade’, from lin ‘flax’ +
leah ‘woodland clearing’. The Berkshire name is from Old
English Lillingleah ‘wood associated with Lilla’, an
Old English personal name.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
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