# Hillary (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/hillary/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | Latin |
| Meaning | “cheerfully” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈhɪ.lə.ɹi/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | Hil, Hiley, Hili, Hilie, Hill, Hilley, Hilli, Hillie, Hills, Hilly, Hils, Hily |
| Variant spellings | Hilary |
| US babies named this | 30,305 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 1,262 / 29,043 (96% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 123, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Latin Hilarius or Hilaria, from hilare (“cheerfully”) (compare English hilarious).

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 166 | 1,380 |
| 2012 | 157 | 1,454 |
| 2013 | 154 | 1,452 |
| 2014 | 177 | 1,335 |
| 2015 | 138 | 1,583 |
| 2016 | 172 | 1,369 |
| 2017 | 63 | 2,727 |
| 2018 | 49 | 3,268 |
| 2019 | 45 | 3,477 |
| 2020 | 52 | 3,071 |
| 2021 | 60 | 2,833 |
| 2022 | 73 | 2,474 |
| 2023 | 72 | 2,473 |
| 2024 | 79 | 2,335 |
| 2025 | 67 | 2,592 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 5 | 6,660 |
| 1984 | 6 | 5,865 |
| 1985 | 12 | 3,673 |
| 1986 | 11 | 3,975 |
| 1987 | 10 | 4,375 |
| 1988 | 13 | 3,774 |
| 1989 | 14 | 3,892 |
| 1991 | 5 | 8,705 |
| 1992 | 7 | 6,954 |
| 1993 | 7 | 7,101 |
| 1994 | 7 | 7,260 |
| 1999 | 5 | 10,525 |
| 2002 | 5 | 11,329 |
| 2003 | 6 | 10,042 |
| 2008 | 6 | 11,576 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 10 | 2,084 |
| 2006 | 8 | 2,509 |
| 2007 | 5 | 3,667 |
| 2008 | 8 | 2,721 |
| 2009 | 3 | 5,556 |
| 2010 | 11 | 2,235 |
| 2011 | 4 | 4,764 |
| 2012 | 4 | 4,838 |
| 2013 | 6 | 3,536 |
| 2014 | 4 | 4,684 |
| 2015 | 10 | 2,496 |
| 2016 | 11 | 2,367 |
| 2018 | 4 | 4,684 |
| 2024 | 5 | 4,192 |
| 2025 | 3 | 5,927 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: هِيلَارِي
- Chinese: 希拉里
- Hindi: हिलेरी
- Italian: Ilaria
- Japanese: ヒラリー
- Korean: 힐러리
- Polish: Hilaria
- Russian: Хи́ллари, Хи́лари
- Vietnamese: Hi-la-ri

## People named Hillary

- Hillary Scott, American pornographic actress
- Hillary Wolf, American actor and judoka
- Hillary Brooke, American film actress (1914–1999)
- Hillary Scott, American singer and songwriter
- Hillary Lindsey, American singer-songwriter (born 1977)
- Hillary Janssens, Canadian rower
- Hillary Tuck, American actress
- Hillary Waugh, American mystery novelist (1920-2008)
- Hillary Scholten, American politician (born 1982)
- Hillary B. Smith, American actress
- Hillary Jordan, American writer
- Hilaria Baldwin, American yoga instructor, entrepreneur, podcaster, and author

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.