How popular is the baby name Hilarius in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Hilarius.

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Popularity of the baby name Hilarius


Posts that mention the name Hilarius

Ellery: Girl name or boy name?

Is Ellery is a boy name, a girl name, or both?

First, a little background. Ellery is related to Hilary, which comes from the Latin masculine name Hilarius, a derivative of hilaris, “cheerful.”

Like Hilary, Ellery began as a boy name. Unlike Hilary, Ellery was used primarily for baby boys all the way until the 1980s. (For Hilary, the scales tipped from “mostly boys” to “mostly girls” during the 1940s.) Fictional detective Ellery Queen may have helped reinforce Ellery’s masculinity mid-century.

Ellery popped up on the girls’ list intermittently from the ’50s through the ’70s, but wasn’t a regular presence until the mid-1980s. By the late ’80s, more girls than boys were already getting the name:

  • 1982 – 25 boys and fewer than 5 girls named Ellery
  • 1983 – 29 boys, 6 girls
  • 1984 – 30 boys, 6 girls
  • 1985 – 21 boys, 8 girls
  • 1986 – 16 boys, 8 girls
  • 1987 – 28 boys, 11 girls
  • 1988 – 15 boys, 16 girls
  • 1989 – 12 boys, 18 girls
  • 1990 – 18 boys, 26 girls
  • 1991 – 15 boys, 28 girls
  • 1992 – 14 boys, 19 girls
  • 1993 – 18 boys, 32 girls
  • 1994 – 15 boys, 29 girls

From 2004 to 2005, the number of baby girls named Ellery nearly doubled, from 77 to 130. I’m still not quite sure why. Regardless, the number has stayed above the hundred-mark ever since.

Meanwhile, on the boy’s side, the number of baby Ellerys is dwindling:

  • 2007 – 10 boys and 151 girls named Ellery
  • 2008 – 19 boys, 141 girls
  • 2009 – 8 boys, 171 girls
  • 2010 – 13 boys, 187 girls
  • 2011 – 10 boys, 196 girls

Right now, Ellery is in danger of dropping off the boys’ list entirely.

It’s also on track to reach the top 1,000 for girls soon. (It ranked 1,216th in 2011.)

So what are your thoughts on Ellery: Girl name? Boy name? Somewhere in between?