girls' name ★ peaked 1992

Hillary

Meaning cheerful Gender Girl · 4% boys Rank 2025 #2,592 Trend ↑ Rising 55%

Hilary, Hilarie or Hillary is a given name and surname, derived from the Latin hilarius meaning "cheerful", from hilaris, "cheerful, merry", which comes from the Greek…

Rank 2025
#2,592
among girls · ↓257 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
67
named Hillary · -15% vs 2024
How common
1 in 23,989
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1992
2,527 babies
All-time total
30,305
#852 all-time among girls
First recorded
1888
in Social Security records

Hillary popularity over time

30,305 babies have been named Hillary since 1888, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.380.751.131.518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – 11 11 1 – –
1890s – 20 20 2 +82% –
1900s – 26 26 3 +30% –
1910s – 117 117 12 +350% –
1920s 5 192 197 20 +68% #5,344
1930s – 141 141 14 -28% –
1940s 228 158 386 39 +174% #1,273
1950s 708 187 895 90 +132% #1,028
1960s 1,344 141 1,485 149 +66% #718
1970s 4,049 119 4,168 417 +181% #264
1980s 9,607 102 9,709 971 +133% #210
1990s 8,722 31 8,753 875 -10% #132
2000s 2,688 17 2,705 271 -69% #722
2010s 1,289 – 1,289 129 -52% #1,335
2020s (to 2025) 403 – 403 67 -48% #2,335

Where Hillary is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 72 0.04 outside top 500
2027 76 0.05 outside top 500
2028 80 0.05 outside top 500
2029 83 0.05 outside top 500
2030 86 0.05 outside top 500

Where Hillary is most popular

Girls named Hillary per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.043 per 1,000. Strongest in New Jersey, Texas, and New York.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Hillary born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
New Jersey 15 0.083 +92%
Texas 50 0.062 +44%
New York 19 0.048 +11%
California 39 0.046 +7%
Massachusetts 5 0.041 ≈ national
Florida 12 0.028 -35%
Georgia 5 0.022 -49%
Illinois 5 0.022 -50%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Indiana – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Michigan – – –
Minnesota – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Carolina – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Ohio – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Pennsylvania – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Tennessee – – –
Utah – – –
Virginia – – –
Vermont – – –
Washington – – –
Wisconsin – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Hillary

Hillary is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #2,592 in 2025 with 67 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1888, 30,305 American babies have been named Hillary. Its peak came in 1992, when 2,527 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1990s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Hillary stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Hillary?

The median living Hillary is about 37 years old; half are between 32 and 44. An estimated 29 thousand people named Hillary are alive in the United States today.

median 37 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Hillary year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 67 #2,592 – –
2024 79 #2,335 – –
2023 72 #2,473 – –
2022 73 #2,474 – –
2021 60 #2,833 – –
2020 52 #3,071 – –
2019 45 #3,477 – –
2018 49 #3,268 – –
2017 63 #2,727 – –
2016 172 #1,369 – –
2015 138 #1,583 – –
2014 177 #1,335 – –
2013 154 #1,452 – –
2012 157 #1,454 – –
2011 166 #1,380 – –
2010 168 #1,380 – –
2009 200 #1,237 – –
2008 412 #722 6 #11,576
2007 282 #961 – –
2006 265 #983 – –
2005 285 #885 – –
2004 311 #809 – –
2003 225 #1,025 6 #10,042
2002 197 #1,080 5 #11,329
2001 259 #887 – –
2000 252 #877 – –
1995 310 #688 – –
1990 1,525 #192 – –
1985 1,047 #246 12 #3,673
1980 835 #300 11 #3,710
1975 322 #537 10 #3,521
1970 257 #641 11 #2,968
1965 111 #984 15 #2,122
1960 75 #1,271 16 #2,069
1955 71 #1,189 23 #1,628
1950 54 #1,255 20 #1,675
1945 18 #2,013 16 #1,726
1940 – – 19 #1,595
1935 – – 7 #3,096
1930 – – 19 #1,725
1925 – – 20 #1,768
1920 – – 18 #1,923
1915 – – 18 #1,689
1910 – – 5 #1,702
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – 5 #1,070
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Hillary

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Hillary Clinton Hillary Clinton American politician and diplomat (born 1947) Contemporary
  2. 2 Hillary Scott Hillary Scott American country singer (born 1986) Contemporary
  3. 3 Hillary Wolf American actor and judoka (born 1977) Contemporary
  4. 4 Hillary Scott Hillary Scott American pornographic film actress and director (born 1982/1983) Contemporary
  5. 5 Hillary Brooke Hillary Brooke American actress (1914–1999) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Hillary, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Hillary?

The median living Hillary is about 37 years old. Half of all living Hillarys are between 32 and 44 years old.

How many people named Hillary are alive today?

An estimated 29 thousand people named Hillary are alive in the United States, based on 30,305 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Hillary mean?

Hilary, Hilarie or Hillary is a given name and surname, derived from the Latin hilarius meaning "cheerful", from hilaris, "cheerful, merry", which comes from the Greek ἱλαρός (hilaros), "cheerful, merry", which in turn comes from ἵλαος…

How popular is the name Hillary in 2025?

Hillary ranked #2,592 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 67 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Hillary?

30,305 babies have been named Hillary in the United States since 1888, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Hillary most popular?

Hillary peaked in 1992, when 2,527 newborns received the name.

Is Hillary a boy or girl name?

Hillary is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 96% of babies with the name.

Is the name Hillary rising or falling?

Hillary is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Hillary become more popular?

Hillary is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 86 girls named Hillary in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Hillary?

Well-known people named Hillary include Hillary Clinton (politician), Hillary Scott (singer), Hillary Wolf (actor).

Names like Hillary

Names that sound and feel close to Hillary: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Hillary with similar names → More names starting with H →