Given name & surname
Halil
“a beloved friend”
Halil is used as a given name and a surname. One Turkish interpretation is “a beloved friend.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Turkish interpretation is “a beloved friend.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Turkish.
How it developed
From Ottoman Turkish خلیل (Halîl), from Arabic خَلِيل (“friend”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1999. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Halil through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 94
- 94 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2017
- 11 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −100%
- Cooling
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 2020. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 11 in 2017. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 687 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Halil’s family of names
Halil has a related form in Haleal. Halil has a related form in Haleel. Halil has a related form in Haleil.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 5
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
People named Halil
- Turgut Özal8th President of the Republic of Turkey (1927–1993)
- Halil AltıntopTurkish association football player (born 1982)
- Khalil SultanTimurid Sultan1384–1411
- Halil MutluTurkish weightlifter (born 1973)
- Halil İnalcıkTurkish historian (1916–2016)
- Khalil Al Ghamdifootballerborn 1970
- Halil KutTurkish general and statesperson (1882–1957)1881–1957
- Halil DervişoğluTurkish-Dutch footballer (born 1999)
- Halil Umut MelerTurkish association football referee (born 1986)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Halil, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Halit
“immortal”
>99% boys
Hami
Hami is a masculine given name from Ottoman Turkish. It is used in Turkish.
>99% boys
Halid
“immortal”
>99% boys
Asil
Asil is a masculine given name from Ottoman Turkish, ultimately from Arabic. It is used in Turkish.
87% boys · 13% girls
Akif
Akif is a masculine given name from Ottoman Turkish, ultimately from Arabic. It is used in Turkish.
>99% boys
Wafi
“one who is trustworthy”
>99% boys
Azat
“free”
>99% boys
Fatih
“victorious, conqueror”
>99% boys