Hillary is a name of English origin that has been used for both boys and girls throughout history. The name's origins can be traced back to the Old German name Hilarius, which means "cheerful" or "happy." This name was borne by several early Christian saints, including Saint Hilary of Arles and Saint Hilary of Poitiers.
In medieval England, Hillary became a popular name for both boys and girls. It was often used as a short form of various longer names that began with the same sound, such as Hilarius or Hilburg. Over time, however, Hillary came to be more strongly associated with female namesakes, such as Hillary Clinton, the former First Lady and Secretary of State of the United States.
Today, Hillary is still used as both a boy's name and girl's name in English-speaking countries around the world. Its popularity has waxed and waned over the years but remains relatively uncommon compared to many other names. Despite its rarity, Hillary continues to evoke a strong sense of history and tradition, thanks to its ancient origins and association with several important historical figures.
Based on the statistics provided, the name Hillary has had varying popularity over the years in the United States. The highest number of births with the name Hillary occurred in 1992, with a total of 38 births that year. This is quite significant, as it was the peak for this name during the time period covered by these statistics.
Interestingly, there seems to be a trend where the popularity of the name increases and then decreases over several years. For example, from 1970 to 1975, there were consistently around 8 births per year with the name Hillary. Then, between 1976 and 1984, the number of births fluctuated between 5 and 16, before peaking again at 38 in 1992.
However, after this peak, the popularity of the name Hillary began to decline steadily. There were only 8 births in 1994, and then just 5 births each in 2002 and 2011. This suggests that the name may have fallen out of fashion over time, or perhaps parents started preferring similar names with slightly different spellings.
In total, based on these statistics, there were 329 births with the name Hillary in the United States during the period from 1953 to 2011. This shows that while the name may not have been extremely popular every year, it was still chosen for a significant number of newborn girls over this time span.