Hildy
A feminine diminutive of the German name Hildegard, meaning "battle guard".
Name Census estimates that about 149 living Americans carry the first name Hildy. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Hildy today is around 64 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hildy births was 1957 (36 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hildy. 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.
People living today
149
~ 1 in 2,300,365 Americans
Peak year
1957
36 babies that year
Average age
64
years old
2018 SSA rank
#16,580
Tracked since 1949
Popularity
Hildy: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hildy from the 1940s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 145 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hildy 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 Hildy during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hildys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Hildy
The name Hildy is a diminutive form of the Germanic name Hildegard, which is derived from the Old High German words "hild" meaning battle and "gard" meaning guard or enclosure. This name was popular during the Middle Ages and has its roots in the cultural traditions of ancient Germanic tribes.
The earliest recorded use of the name Hildegard dates back to the 8th century, when it was mentioned in the Codex Bavarian, a legal code of the Bavarian people. The name gained popularity during the High Middle Ages, particularly in the regions of Germany and the Low Countries.
One of the most notable figures in history with the name Hildegard was the Benedictine abbess and polymath Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179). She was a renowned writer, composer, philosopher, and visionary, and is considered one of the most influential figures of the Middle Ages.
Another historical figure with the name Hildegard was the German princess and countess Hildegard of Burgundy (1079-1141), who was the wife of Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa and played a significant role in the political affairs of the Holy Roman Empire.
In the realm of literature, the name Hildy is associated with the character Hildy Johnson, a female journalist in the play and film "The Front Page" by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, which was first produced in 1928.
During the 20th century, the name Hildy gained some popularity, particularly in the United States. One notable figure was Hildy Parks (1904-1999), an American actress and singer who appeared in several Broadway productions and films during the 1930s and 1940s.
Another individual with the name Hildy was Hildy Peel (1916-2005), an American author and journalist who wrote several books on gardening and nature, including "Gardening with Hildy" and "Hildy's Plant Portraits."
While the name Hildy may not be as widely used today as it once was, it carries a rich historical legacy and serves as a reminder of the cultural traditions and influences that have shaped our understanding of names and their meanings.
People
Hildy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hildy 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
Hildy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hildy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 149 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hildy 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 2,300,365 US residents.
Is Hildy a common name?
We classify Hildy as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 201 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hildy most popular?
The single biggest year for Hildy was 1957, when 36 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hildy is about 64 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Hildy a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hildy 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.
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.