Hillery
A feminine name of Old German origins, signifying "from a battle or quarrelsome place".
Name Census estimates that about 625 living Americans carry the first name Hillery. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 50.3% of registrations being male. The average person named Hillery today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hillery births was 1979 (32 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hillery. 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
- • Hillery started out as a boys' name but over the decades crossed over and is now given to girls far more often.
People living today
625
~ 1 in 548,407 Americans
Peak year
1979
32 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
1983 SSA rank
#6,661
Tracked since 1887
Gender
Gender distribution for Hillery
Hillery is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 996 total registrations, 501 (50.3%) were male and 495 (49.7%) were female.
Hillery as a male name
- Ranked #6,661 in 1983
- 5 male births in 1983
- Peak: 1921 (17 births)
Hillery as a female name
- Ranked #11,582 in 1998
- 7 female births in 1998
- Peak: 1979 (32 births)
Popularity
Hillery: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hillery from the 1880s through to the 1990s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 215 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Hillery remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hillery 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 Hillery during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hillerys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Louisiana, California, Alabama recorded the most babies named Hillery, while Alabama, California, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 17 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hillery
The name Hillery is an anglicized form of the old French name Hilaire, which itself derives from the Latin name Hilarius, meaning "cheerful" or "merry". The name has its origins in ancient Rome, where it was used as a surname or cognomen for individuals who possessed a lively and joyful disposition.
In the early days of Christianity, the name Hilarius was borne by several notable figures, including St. Hilary of Poitiers (c. 300-368 AD), a Bishop and Doctor of the Church who played a significant role in the Trinitarian and Christological controversies of the 4th century. Another prominent bearer of the name was Pope Hilarius (461-468 AD), who served as the Bishop of Rome during a tumultuous period in the Church's history.
The transition from Hilarius to Hillery occurred during the Middle Ages, as the name spread across Europe and underwent various linguistic adaptations. One of the earliest recorded examples of the spelling "Hillery" can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. Here, the name is listed as a surname, indicating its widespread use among the Anglo-Norman aristocracy of the time.
In the centuries that followed, several notable individuals bore the name Hillery. Among them was Sir Geoffrey Hillery (c. 1310-1363), an English knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War and was renowned for his military prowess. Another was William Hillery (c. 1690-1763), an Irish-born Anglican clergyman who served as the Bishop of Leighlin and Ferns in Ireland.
The name Hillery also gained prominence in the literary world, with authors such as Hillery Belloc (1870-1953), an Anglo-French writer and historian known for his satirical works and his staunch Catholic faith. In the realm of politics, one cannot overlook Hillery Rodham Clinton (born 1947), the former First Lady of the United States, U.S. Senator, and Secretary of State, who was also the first woman to be nominated for president by a major U.S. political party.
While the name Hillery has its roots in ancient Rome and has been carried by various historical figures throughout the centuries, its modern usage remains relatively uncommon, particularly in comparison to its more widespread counterparts, such as Hillary or Hilary.
People
Hillery + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hillery 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
Hillery: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hillery?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 625 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hillery 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 548,407 US residents.
Is Hillery a common name?
We classify Hillery as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 996 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hillery most popular?
The single biggest year for Hillery was 1979, when 32 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hillery is about 52 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Hillery a male name?
Yes, 50.3% of people registered as Hillery in the SSA data are male. 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.