Hildreth
Of Old English origin meaning "battle-mighty" or "battle-fierce".
Name Census estimates that about 67 living Americans carry the first name Hildreth. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 89.1% of registrations being female. The average person named Hildreth today is around 85 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hildreth births was 1919 (48 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hildreth. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Hildreth is about 85 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Hildreths were born before 1951.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Hildreth. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
67
~ 1 in 5,115,736 Americans
Peak year
1919
48 babies that year
Average age
85
years old
1949 SSA rank
#3,493
Tracked since 1892
Census
Hildreth in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 243 people with the first name Hildreth, which placed it at #33,857 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#33,857
National first-name rank
People counted
243
243 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
72.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hildreth
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hildreth is White at 72.8%. The next largest groups are Black (19.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Hildreth described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Hildreth at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.8% · 177
- Black or African American19.3% · 47
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.5% · 6
- Two or more races2.1% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Hildreth
Hildreth leans heavily female at 89.1% of total registrations, but 97 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Hildreth as a male name
- Ranked #3,493 in 1949
- 6 male births in 1949
- Peak: 1919 (12 births)
Hildreth as a female name
- Ranked #5,533 in 1956
- 6 female births in 1956
- Peak: 1918 (40 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Hildreth on both sides of the split. Of the 238 people counted with this name, 56 were male (23.5%) and 182 were female (76.5%).
Popularity
Hildreth: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hildreth from the 1890s through to the 1950s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 294 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hildreth by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Hildreth during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hildreths live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio recorded the most babies named Hildreth, while Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 13 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hildreth
The name Hildreth is of Anglo-Saxon origin, derived from the Old English words "hild" meaning battle and "ræd" meaning counsel or advice. It was originally a masculine name, likely given to boys born during times of war or conflict, with the meaning "battle counsel" or "wise warrior."
The name first appeared in written records in England during the Anglo-Saxon period, which lasted from the 5th to the 11th centuries. It was a popular name among the noble classes and was often borne by members of the aristocracy and military leaders.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hildreth can be found in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, a collection of annals that recorded important events in the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The Chronicles mention a nobleman named Hildreth who fought alongside King Alfred the Great in the late 9th century.
In the medieval period, the name Hildreth was also used as a surname, and several individuals bearing this surname are mentioned in historical records. One notable example is Hildreth de Bury, a 13th-century English landowner and knight who served under King Henry III.
The name Hildreth has been borne by several notable individuals throughout history. One of the most famous was Hildreth Hosmer, an American sculptor and artist who lived from 1830 to 1908. She is best known for her neoclassical sculptures, which can be found in various museums and public spaces across the United States.
Another notable bearer of the name was Hildreth Meière, an American artist and designer who lived from 1892 to 1961. She was renowned for her architectural decoration and mosaic work, and her art can be found in numerous buildings, including the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.
In the field of literature, Hildreth Garnet Hosmer was a Canadian author and journalist who lived from 1828 to 1901. She wrote several books and articles on a variety of topics, including history, travel, and social issues.
Hildreth Venill, born in 1821, was an American abolitionist and women's rights advocate. She was active in the anti-slavery movement and worked alongside notable figures such as William Lloyd Garrison and Lucretia Mott.
Lastly, Hildreth Meade Cahill was an American educator and philanthropist who lived from 1865 to 1945. She founded the Hildreth Meade Cahill Scholarship Fund, which provided financial support to deserving students pursuing higher education.
People
Hildreth + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hildreth as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Hildreth: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hildreth?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 67 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hildreth going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 5,115,736 US residents.
Is Hildreth a common name?
We classify Hildreth as "Very Rare". It ranks above 58.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 886 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hildreth most popular?
The single biggest year for Hildreth was 1919, when 48 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hildreth is about 85 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hildreth in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 243 people with the name Hildreth, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,857 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Hildreth in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Hildreth?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Hildreth on both sides of the split. Of the 238 people counted with this name, 56 were male (23.5%) and 182 were female (76.5%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Hildreth?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hildreth is White at 72.8%. The next largest groups are Black (19.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Hildreth most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Hildreth in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.8% (177 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Hildreth in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hildreth a female name?
Yes, 89.1% of people registered as Hildreth in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Hildreth still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hildreth in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Hildreth can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Hildreth?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.