Hillary (English)

Where does "Hillary" come from?

The English name 'Hillary' comes from the Latin 'Hilarius' or 'Hilaria'[1]. These Latin names trace back to 'hilare', meaning 'cheerfully'[1], which itself derives from the adjective 'hilaris', meaning 'cheerful'[3]. This etymological lineage is also shared by the English word 'hilarious'.

Full etymology tree

• Hillary (English), 'A unisex given name from Latin.'
  • derived Hilarius (Latin), 'name of a fourth-century saint, meaning cheerful, happy.'
    • derived hilare (Latin), 'cheerfully, joyfully'
      • derived hilaris (Latin), 'cheerful, lively, light-hearted, merry, jovial'
  • derived Hilaria (Latin)
    • derived hilare (Latin), 'cheerfully, joyfully'
      • derived hilaris (Latin), 'cheerful, lively, light-hearted, merry, jovial'

Ancestors

• Hilarius (Latin)

Cognates and doublets

• hilarious (English)

Descendants and derived words

• Billary (English)
• Hildebeast (English)
• Hiley (English)
• Hill (English)
• HillaryCare (English)
• Hillarygate (English)
• Hilley (English)
• Hills (English)
• Hitlery (English)
• Killary (English)
• Killary (English)
• Shillary (English)

Sources

1. Hillary (English) - Wiktionary
2. Hilarius (Latin) - Wiktionary
3. hilare (Latin) - Wiktionary

Updated August 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris