Hilary
From the Latin name Hilarius, derived from hilaris, meaning cheerful. Several early saints carried it, among them a fourth-century bishop of Poitiers.
Hilary in 2025
Hilary was given to 24 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 9,194th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 138,139 babies born.
The history of Hilary
Hilary reached its highest point in 1990, when 1,225 babies were given the name, ranking 467th that year. Its best-ever ranking was 465th, in 1985.
Across the 144 years of records since 1882, 26,368 babies have been named Hilary. Half of them were born before 1982, which places the name's centre of gravity with Millennials.
Hilary has switched sex over its history: it went mostly to boys in its early decades, and goes mostly to girls today.
Hilary by decade
| Decade | Babies named Hilary | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 20 | 1,495 |
| 1890s | 24 | 1,685 |
| 1900s | 36 | 2,119 |
| 1910s | 311 | 1,845 |
| 1920s | 466 | 1,831 |
| 1930s | 403 | 1,798 |
| 1940s | 732 | 1,370 |
| 1950s | 1,614 | 1,187 |
| 1960s | 2,577 | 919 |
| 1970s | 5,083 | 520 |
| 1980s | 8,448 | 465 |
| 1990s | 4,578 | 467 |
| 2000s | 1,362 | 1,919 |
| 2010s | 506 | 4,099 |
| 2020s | 208 | 5,004 |
Where Hilary is heading
Hilary has fallen 57% over the past decade, from 56 babies in 2015 to 24 in 2025.
That is less than 5% of its 1990 peak — Hilary is now a rare name in the United States.
Names like Hilary
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Hilary.