Lilja is a Swedish and Finnish surname, meaning lily in both Swedish, Icelandic and Finnish.
Geographical distribution As of 2014, 58.1% of all known bearers of the surname Lilja were residents of Sweden (frequency 1:1,643), 22.9% of Finland (1:2,324), 11.5% of the United States (1:305,627), 3.0% of Denmark (1:18,091) and 1.0% of Norway (1:51,943).
In Sweden, the frequency of the surname was higher than national average (1:1,643) in the following counties: Blekinge County (1:733) Jönköping County (1:1,003) Östergötland County (1:1,006) Örebro County (1:1,308) Skåne County (1:1,315) Västmanland County (1:1,337) Kalmar County (1:1,351) Kronoberg County (1:1,357) Gotland County (1:1,426)
In Finland, the frequency of the surname was higher than national average (1:2,324) in the following regions: Satakunta (1:1,051) Tavastia Proper (1:1,238) Päijänne Tavastia (1:1,402) Lapland (1:1,635) Uusimaa (1:1,772)
People Ann-Charlotte Lilja (born 1946), Swedish swimmer Lars Lilja (born 1954), Swedish social democratic politician Liisa Lilja (born 1992), Finnish paratriathlete Lisa Lilja (born 1996), Swedish sprinter Efva Lilja (born 1956), Swedish artist and professor of choreography Karl-Erik Lilja (born 1957), retired Swedish ice hockey player George Lilja (born 1958), American football offensive lineman James Lilja (born 1966), American gynecologic oncologist and musician Arto Lilja (born 1973), Finnish ski-orienteering competitor Max Lilja (born 1975), Finnish cello player Niklas Lilja, race driver and factory test driver Arto Lilja (born 1973), Finnish ski-orienteering competitor Andreas Lilja (born 1975), Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman Ryan Lilja (born 1981), American football center and guard Jakob Lilja (born 1993), Swedish ice hockey player Kim Lilja (born 1994), Swedish ice hockey player Lilja Brothers: Four brothers who enlisted in the United States Marine Corps from Natick, Massachusetts PFC George Lilja: Awarded the Navy Cross for Valor, Purple Heart, Presidential Unit Citation, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, and World War II Victory Medal. First Sgt. Ralph Lilja: Honored with the Purple Heart, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, Presidential Unit Citation, and World War II Victory Medal. Gunnery Sgt. Edwin Lilja: Received the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal and Presidential Unit Citation. PFC Verner A. Lilja, Jr.: Awarded the Purple Heart.
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