Hilary
A girls’ name of Latin origin, meaning cheerful, merry.
Hilary by the numbers
In 2025, 6 babies in England and Wales were named Hilary. In the US, 15 were, though that figure is from 2017, the most recent full year we hold.
For the size of the two countries, it is given noticeably more often in England and Wales than in the US.
Its American peak was 1,216 babies in 1990, so it is a 1990s name that has since fallen a long way.
Spelled almost the same
Other names in the records within a letter or two of Hilary. Close spellings are not always related names, but they are usually worth seeing together.
Other names that mean joy
Like Hilary, each of these has joy in its meaning. Different names, different histories, the same idea.
- Abigailmy father's joy10,557 in the US (2017)
- Asherhappy, blessed6,076 in the US (2017)
- Edendelight, paradise594 in England and Wales (2025)
- Jocelyncheerful or joyful; from Jocundus1,828 in the US (2017)
- Tatumcheerful or bringer of joy1,159 in the US (2017)
- Joyjoy; gladness and pleasure971 in the US (2017)
Names about as common as Hilary
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