Hilary

Locally spelled הילרי in PL Poland.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records, and ○ marks a model's transliteration; click a spelling to open its page.

Attested across 6 languages in the etymology graph.

Names that people choosing a name often weigh against Hilary, most often first. They share a style rather than an origin.

• Leslie
• Lindsay
• Clinton
• Courtney
• Ashley
• Kelly
• Banks
• Beverley
• Dana
• Aubrey
• Shannon
• Beverly

From the names suggested together in public name-advice forums, in English. A list of what people consider, not a measure of how common any name is.

Hilary is also recorded as 3 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish given name15 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Peru, Brazil, Colombia

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese, Italian

  Also written Hílary, Hïläry, Hîlāry, Hîlâry, Hîlärý

• French given name4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, United States, United Kingdom, Canada

  Also written Hîlärÿ, Hílary

• Russian given name9 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Russia, Ukraine

  Languages: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian

  Also written Хилари, Hilarie, Gilary, Gìlâry, Гілары

62 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Hilary is also recorded in 4 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, Latin ‘joyful’; occasionally used in Ireland; Irish form may have been influenced by French Hilaire.

  as a name·Irish first names

• In Polish, Hilary, Hilaire

  as a name·Polish Personal Names (CIA Foreign Names Studies, ch. 24)

• In French, Forme anglo-saxonne féminine d’Hilaire; origine latine, signifie « gaie ».

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

• In French, Latin Hilarius/Hilaria, de hilaris « joyeux ».

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

• Hilary Putnamb. 1926USAmerican philosopher and mathematician
• Hilary Mantelb. 1952GBBritish writer (1952–2022)
• Hilary Bennb. 1953GBBritish politician (born 1953)
• Hilary Henkinb. 1962USAmerican screenwriter
• Alex Kurtzmanb. 1973USnot in their usual nameAmerican television producer
• Hilary Swankb. 1974USAmerican actress (born 1974)
• Hilary Hahnb. 1979USAmerican classical violinist
• Hilary Duffb. 1987USAmerican actress and singer (born 1987)
• Hilary Rhodab. 1987USAmerican model
• Hilary Caldwellb. 1990CACanadian swimmer, Olympic athlete, Pan American Games gold medallist

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

A formal English salutation is built on the surname, so it needs a full name — on its own, a first name only supports the informal form.

Register rows as of the 2026-10-09 data build.

What does the name Hilary mean, and where does it come from?

(i) from the medieval male personal name Hilary, from Latin Hilarius, from hilaris ‘cheerful’; (ii) from the medieval female personal name Eulalie, from Latin Eulalia, based on Greek eulalos ‘eloquent… Recorded by Encyclopedia of surnames [the complete companion to tracing your names history].

How common is the name Hilary?

In Poland, the national register counted 445 people named Hilary in 2026, about 1 in 86 thousand residents.

How common is Hilary compared with other names?

In Ireland, Hilary is the 323rd most common given name of 14,976 given names recorded there.

Is Hilary a male or female name?

Hilary is used for both men and women, depending on the country. National registers that list names by sex disagree: United States (Census Bureau, 2020): listed as female; Brazil (IBGE, 2022): listed as female; Poland (dane.gov.pl): listed as male; Finland (DVV): listed under both sexes. We don't publish a percentage split.

How do you pronounce Hilary?

A machine transcription gives /hɪləɹi/ (IPA) for English.

In which country does Hilary have the most bearers?

In the United States, the national register counted about 28 thousand people named Hillary, more than in any other country we hold.