Hillary

Hillary: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning: “cheerful”
Origin: Latin
Say it: HIL-uh-ree · 3 syllables
Used for: Girls (96% of all uses)

Hillary comes from the Latin name Hilarius, meaning cheerful or merry. It has been used for both men and women in English, though now more familiar as feminine.

English names Names meaning joy Classic names Vintage names

How popular is Hillary?

202424.0 per million US babies

Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Compare with another name

Babies named Hillary in 202479

2024 rank#2,323 girls

Peak year1992

Total US babies since 188030,239

Hillary is fading: recent use is about 45% of its level ten years before.

Names like Hillary

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

Camilayoung ceremonial attendant · Latin
Lunamoon · Latin
Auroradawn · Latin
Emilyrival · Latin
Norahonor · Latin
Lucylight · Latin
Gracegrace; favor · Latin
Novanew · Latin

Hillary questions

What does the name Hillary mean?

Hillary means "cheerful". It comes from Latin. Hillary comes from the Latin name Hilarius, meaning cheerful or merry. It has been used for both men and women in English, though now more familiar as feminine.

Is Hillary a boy or girl name?

Hillary is mainly a girl's name in US records (96% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Hillary?

79 US babies were named Hillary in 2024. Its peak year was 1992.

How do you pronounce Hillary?

Hillary is usually pronounced HIL-uh-ree.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.