Hilary

Did you know?

A few things about Hilary you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Hilary

Hilary Swank

American actress (born 1974)

Choose Hilary and your child shares a first name with Hilary Swank, an American actress. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Hilary, like who?” Hilary Swank's Wikipedia article is available in 93 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Hilary Swank on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Manfred Werner (Tsui), CC BY-SA 3.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 67,114 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named Hilary, 24 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Hilary would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryHilary first shows up in US birth records in 1882, the first year at least 5 babies got it. It has been in use for 143 years since.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1990, when it ranked #232. Today it's #5,238, so it could be due a comeback.
• 📉Then vs nowHilary was 3.2× more common in 2000 than it is today. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 20,877 baby girls; in 2025, about 1 in 67,114.
• 🚀TrendHilary has climbed 249 places in the US rankings over the last five years and now sits at #5,238. Fast risers like this often keep climbing, so expect to hear it more.
• 💬MeaningIn Latin, Hilary means “cheerful”. Our records link it to English, Greek and Latin roots.

About the name Hilary

Hilary is a girl name of English, Greek and Latin origin meaning “cheerful”. It has 6 letters and 3 syllables, starting with H and ending in “-ary”. US birth records list Hilary for girls from 1914 to 2025, in 104 of those 112 years. Its best year was 1990, when it ranked #232 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #5,238, with 24 babies.

Origin:English namesGreek namesLatin names