Girls' name · peaked in 1990
Hilary name popularity since 1925
25,739 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Hilary (93.8% girls, 6.2% boys). Half of them were born in 1983 or earlier, so the typical Hilary is about 43 years old in 2026. Hilary peaked in 1990 as the #232 name for girls, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 25,739
- Named Hilary, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #5,301 for girls in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 93.8% girls
- 24,134 girls · 1,605 boys
- Most popular in
- Connecticut
- 1.94× its national share
Peak year is the year Hilary made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Hilary births per year, 1925–2025
1990 was the biggest year for Hilary both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1958 and 1963, Hilary became 2× more common, from 1 in 15,700 baby girls to 1 in 7,710.
- Steepest fall: Between 1992 and 1997, its share of baby girls fell by 90%, from 1 in 1,580 to 1 in 16,300.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Hilary's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Hilary.
Decade by decade
Babies named Hilary in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 21 | 207 | – |
| 1930s | 77 | 326 | #2,633 |
| 1940s | 424 | 308 | #1,179 |
| 1950s | 1,289 | 325 | #821 |
| 1960s | 2,411 | 166 | #621 |
| 1970s | 4,951 | 132 | #439 |
| 1980s | 8,337 | 111 | #244 |
| 1990s | 4,553 | 25 | #1,326 |
| 2000s | 1,362 | 0 | #1,090 |
| 2010s | 501 | 5 | #3,041 |
| 2020–25 | 208 | 0 | #5,301 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
46.6% of babies named Hilary from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Millennial years (1981–1996). The full split by generation:
Where Hilary is most popular
The index compares Hilary's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Hilary.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Connecticut | 1.94× | 447 |
| Utah | 1.82× | 330 |
| Massachusetts | 1.76× | 894 |
| Oregon | 1.50× | 300 |
| California | 1.46× | 3,301 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Hilary and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Hilary (this page) | 24,134 | 1990 |
| Hillary | 29,038 | 1992 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Hilary's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Hilary.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Hilary (1990).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data