Hilary

/ˈhɪləɹi/

//ˈhɪləɹi// name

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"hilary" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Hilary” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #14,338. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#14,338
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A male given name from Latin.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hilary · Hilary · English

Hilary · rank #14,338 · 8 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #14,338
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH heroine

Nearest frequency peer: heroine (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “Hilary”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “Hilary” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Hilary vs hilly
50% similar
Hilary vs Hillary
86% similar
Hilary vs hilal
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for Hilary
PropertyValue
HeadwordHilary
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ˈhɪləɹi/
Letters6
Frequency rank#14,338
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Hilary”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).Hilarylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “heroine” (#14,337), “hoax” (#14,339), “Havana” (#14,336). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “Hilary” is #14,338. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around Hilary (IPA /ˈhɪləɹi/), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #14,338 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for Hilary, with forms such as "hhilary", "hialry", and "hilarry". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "hilly", "Hillary", "hilal", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin Hilarius (“cheerful, happy”), name of a fourth-century saint, and from its feminine form Hilaria. The correct English form is Hilary, spelled H-I-L-A-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A male given name from Latin.
  2. 2
    A female given name from Latin.
  3. 3
    A surname.

Etymology

From Latin Hilarius (“cheerful, happy”), name of a fourth-century saint, and from its feminine form Hilaria.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hhilary
  • hialry
  • hilarry
  • hilaryy
  • hilayr
  • hilray
  • hliary
  • ihlary

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Hilary - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

hhilary1hialry2hilarry1hilaryy1hilayr2hilray2hliary2ihlary2
Edit distance from "Hilary"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Hilary"?
"Hilary" is spelled H-I-L-A-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhɪləɹi/.
What does "Hilary" mean?
As a proper noun, "Hilary" means: A male given name from Latin.
What words are commonly confused with "Hilary"?
"Hilary" is commonly confused with "hilly", "Hillary", "hilal". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Hilary"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Hilary" is /ˈhɪləɹi/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "Hilary"?
From Latin Hilarius (“cheerful, happy”), name of a fourth-century saint, and from its feminine form Hilaria. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Hilary", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Havana#14,336fungus#14,329Kerala#14,348madden#14,358

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

Franz8 variantsEverett8 variantsdevote8 variantsomitted8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list