Fun Facts About the Name Ilario
- 191 babies named Ilario: U.S. records list 191 babies given the name Ilario from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Ilario Mean?
Ilario is the Italian form of the Latin name Hilarius, which means "cheerful" or "merry." The Latin word hilarius (also found as hilaris) was borrowed from Greek hilaros, meaning "cheerful, glad, gay," a word applied both to people and to festive, joyous occasions. In Roman naming, Hilarius was a common cognomen, the third name that marked a branch of a family, so it began as a nickname describing a cheerful temperament rather than as a religious title.
The name is unrelated to the similar-sounding Hilarion, which is a separate Greek name built from the same root with a diminutive suffix. The meaning "cheerful" is the literal sense of the root word; later Christian use did not change that basic meaning, though it gave the name a devotional association.
Ilario Name History & Origins
The Latin Hilarius was carried by several early Christians, most notably Hilarius, bishop of Poitiers in the fourth century, a theologian honored as a Doctor of the Church, and Pope Hilarius in the fifth century. Their reputations helped the name pass into the medieval church calendars of Western Europe, where it was given to children in several languages at once.
Italian developed the form Ilario, alongside Ila and the feminine Ilaria. The same Latin name produced Spanish and Portuguese Hilario and Hilário, French Hilaire, and English Hilary. In English, Hilary was used for men into the modern period and only later became far more common as a woman's name. The Italian name also survives in the names of several Italian towns called Sant'Ilario, which take their title from local saints named Ilario.
Because the name entered Italy through the church, it appears most often in regions with strong early Christian traditions, and it has remained a recognizable but never dominant given name there.
How Popular is the Name Ilario?
Ilario has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2006. Its best rank was #3,575 in 1931.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #10,072 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2024 | #12,963 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2023 | #11,355 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2020 | #9,022 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2017 | #13,013 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2015 | #8,289 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2014 | #10,031 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2013 | #9,110 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2012 | #12,971 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2011 | #7,705 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2010 | #6,830 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2009 | #11,518 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2008 | #9,312 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2007 | #7,285 | 11 | 0.0005% |
| 2006 | #6,618 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2005 | #9,496 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2003 | #7,479 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2002 | #7,930 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2000 | #6,509 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1980 | #4,281 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1978 | #6,185 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1973 | #5,414 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1971 | #4,140 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1931 | #3,575 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1929 | #3,741 | 6 | 0.0006% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Ilario Shapes Your Personality and Life?
Your tendency is to finish whatever you start. You like to use the pen or the needle (writing, fashion design etc). You are loving, compassionate, intuitive and humanitarian. Runs of luck, either good or bad, follow you. You are sympathetic, but at times might be touchy and oversensitive. You may have a gift for writing. You are intuitive and might be interested in the arts, drama or science.
You are always looking for a chance to do your own thing, to be your own person, and to have things done your own way.
✦ Ilario's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Ilario's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.