The Lily Family was much more extensive in the days of the traditional family division of Cronquist 1981 than it is today. New family assignments according to the APG system splitted the big heterogeneous Lily Family into several smaller families:
- Genus Asparagus, Aphyllanthes, several Hyacinths as e.g. Hyacinthus, Hyacinthoides, and Bellevalia, Convallaria (Lily of the Valley), Maianthemum, Dipcadi, Muscari, Ornithogalum, Paradisea, Polygonatum, Ruscus, Scilla and related, and Drimia are now maintained in the Asparagus Family Asparagaceae. To this family belongs now also the former Agave Family (Agavaceae) with e.g. the genus Agave, Dracaena, and Yucca. 
- Genus Asphodelus, Asphodeline and Hemerocallus (Day Lily) are belonging to the Asphodelus Family Asphodelaceae. 
- Genus Narthecium is split to the small Bog Asphodel Family Nartheciaceae. 
- Genus Veratrum and Paris are assigned to the False Helleborine Family Melanthiaceae. 
- Genus Smilax forms the Greenbrier Family Smilaceae. 
- Genus Colchicum and Merendera merge into the Autumn Crocus Family Colchiaceae. 
- Genus Allium (Garlic, Leek) migrates into the Narcissus Family Amaryllidaceae, to which traditionally already Narcissus, Galanthus, Leucojum, Pancratium, and Sternbergia belonged among others. 
- Only genus Lilium, Tulipa, Gagea, Fritillaria, Erythronium, and Streptopus remain in the now small Lily Family (Liliaceae) according to APG .