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Pilar

#3,335 in 2025UnisexGirls' nameBoys' name

Pillar

Pilar has been given to 6,258 babies in the U.S. since 1896. In 2025 it ranked #3,335 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 2005, with 137 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 88% girls, 12% boys all-time.

Babies named Pilar, 2025

1 in 70,500

Pilar over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
05010015018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Pilar over time

In 2025, Pilar went to 100% girls and 0% boys.

18962025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Pilar: meaning, origin, and history

Pillar

Spanish

What Pilar means

Pilar means “pillar”.

Origin, language, and formation

Pilar is used in English, Cebuano, Spanish and Tagalog. Its origins include Spanish.

Pronunciation and spelling

In Spanish, Pilar is pronounced /piˈlaɾ/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 5,505 girls were recorded with the name Pilar between 1896 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 137 in 2005; its best national rank was #1,317 in 1924.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #3,266 in 2020 to #3,335 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #3,291 in 2015 to #3,335 in 2025.

In the United States, 753 boys were recorded with the name Pilar between 1913 and 2008. Its highest annual count was 22 in 1951; its best national rank was #1,632 in 1951.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Pilar?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 70,500
47 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 34,200
<0.01% of girls
Rank, 2025
#3,335
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
48,893 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Pilar sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 48,893 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Pilar. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Pilars were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Pilar was born before 1990 — so the typical Pilar is around 35 today.

Median birth year
1990
About 35 years old
Biggest decade
2000s
20.0% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
34.5%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
4,749
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2000s — 20.0% of all recorded uses (1,099).

Is Pilar rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
+161
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
−69
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−44
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.94×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
34.3%
Peak was 2005 (137)
Years since peak
20
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
16.6% average annual change
Best rank ever
#1,317
1924

Spellings of Pilar

Pilar is not the most common spelling — Mila is, with 24.5% against Pilar's 1.6%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Pilar is used — girls

Across 1910–2025, Pilar was most concentrated in California — about 1 in 12,500 girls, against 1 in 31,838 across all states with data. It was least common in Pennsylvania (1 in —).

08 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in 12,500
  2. 2Texas1 in 14,286
  3. 3Florida1 in 33,333
  4. 4New York1 in 33,333
  5. 5Arizona1 in 50,000
  6. 6Illinois1 in 50,000
  7. 7Colorado1 in 100,000
  8. 8Georgia1 in 100,000

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Pilar has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Where Pilar is used — boys

Across 1910–2025, Pilar was most concentrated in Texas — about 1 in 50,000 boys, against 1 in 95,627 across all states with data. It was least common in California (1 in —).

02 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Texas1 in 50,000
  2. 2California1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Pilar has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Pilar around the world

Where Pilar ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    2016–2016
    #5,785
    in 2016
  • France
    1900–2025
    #4,499
    in 2025
  • South Australia
    1963–1977
    #637
    in 1977

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Notable people named Pilar

People whose public names include Pilar, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Pilar in other languages

Cross-language forms and variants of Pilar. Linked forms have their own page here.

PilaraPilaroPilaricaMaria PilarMaría PilarMaría del Pilar

Variant forms from Wikidata (CC0). Most are used mainly outside the United States; U.S. birth records statistics cover US usage only.

Pilar by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#3,335
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 69
Best rank ever
#1,317
1924
Peak year
2005
137 that year
First recorded
1896
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
5,505
Count in 2025
47

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#1,632
1951
Peak year
1951
22 that year
First recorded
1913
Last recorded
2008
All-time count
753
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Pilar

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

TylarKylarTaylarSkilarLelarLularSkylarSkyelarEllarSolarEularDellarTalarOlarKhylarBularSylarSchylarLillarSkyllarSaylarStellarTaelarShylar

Names with a curve like Pilar

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Pilar, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

MyriamRinaLupitaGiselaLeanaLidiaMirianIleanaBrigidCaterinaBronwynStar

Sibling names for Pilar

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Pilar

Top names of 2005, Pilar's peak yearThe 2000s in fullOther names that peaked in 1924Girls' names starting with PFilipino Girl NamesUncommon Spanish Girl Names