Hillman
From a surname of English origin meaning "man from the hill".
Name Census estimates that about 86 living Americans carry the first name Hillman. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Hillman today is around 76 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hillman births was 1916 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hillman. 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 Hillman is about 76 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Hillmans were born before 1960.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Hillman. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
86
~ 1 in 3,985,516 Americans
Peak year
1916
19 babies that year
Average age
76
years old
1993 SSA rank
#9,266
Tracked since 1910
Popularity
Hillman: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hillman from the 1910s through to the 1990s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 101 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hillman 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 Hillman during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hillmans live
Origin
Meaning and history of Hillman
The name Hillman is an English surname that has its origins in the Old English words "hyll" meaning hill and "mann" meaning man, essentially translating to "a man who lived on or near a hill." This name came into existence during the medieval period in England, when surnames were adopted to distinguish people living in the same area.
The earliest recorded use of Hillman as a given name can be traced back to the 16th century in England, where it was likely used as a nickname or descriptive name for someone who lived on a hill or worked in a hill-related occupation.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the first name Hillman was Hillman Everard, an English landowner and Member of Parliament who lived from 1554 to 1633. Another notable figure was Hillman Browne, an English judge and legal scholar who lived from 1590 to 1653.
In the 17th century, the name appears in historical records, such as the baptismal records of St. Mary's Church in Warwick, England, which mention a Hillman Leighton born in 1627.
The 18th century saw the name Hillman gain popularity, with individuals like Hillman Dickinson (1712-1788), an American merchant and landowner, and Hillman Malloree (1745-1823), a British naval officer and explorer.
In the 19th century, the name continued to be used, with notable individuals like Hillman Rockwell (1813-1897), an American painter known for his portraits and landscapes, and Hillman Holley (1832-1911), an American engineer and inventor who contributed to the development of the cotton industry.
While the name Hillman is not as common today as it once was, it remains a part of the English naming tradition, reflecting the rich history and linguistic heritage of the language.
People
Hillman + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hillman 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
Hillman: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hillman?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 86 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hillman 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 3,985,516 US residents.
Is Hillman a common name?
We classify Hillman as "Very Rare". It ranks above 62.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 344 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hillman most popular?
The single biggest year for Hillman was 1916, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hillman is about 76 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Hillman a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hillman 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.