Given name
Hilja
“quiet”
Hilja is a feminine given name, probably from Latin. It is used in Finnish and Estonian.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Hilja probably goes back to a word meaning “quiet.”
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1894. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Hilja through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 81
- 0 boys · 81 girls
- Most popular year
- 1917
- 12 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 5 in 1920. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 12 in 1917.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Hilja’s family of names
In Finnish usage, Hilja has a diminutive in HILKKA.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
People named Hilja
- L. OnervaFinnish poet (1882-1972)
- Hilja PärssinenFinnish politician, editor1876–1935
- Hilja RiipinenFinnish politician1883–1966
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Hilja, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Honora
Honora is used as a given name and a surname. One Latin interpretation is “having a good name and integrity; an honorable woman.”
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Othelia
“wealth, riches”
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Cecylia
“blind”
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Girolama
Girolama is a given name from Latin. It is used in Italian.
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Sista
“sixth”
>99% girls
Illa
“island”
>99% girls
Alva
“one who has a fair complexion” · “a bright man”
24% boys · 76% girls
Stephana
“crowned in victory”
>99% girls