Hilal
- Gender
- Mostly girls
- Say it
- hee-LAHL
- Origin
- Arabic
- UK rank, 2025
- #3,329 for boys
- US rank, 2025
- #10,690 for boys
Hilal is a name of Arabic origin, meaning “crescent moon”. In 2025 it ranked 3,329th for boys in the UK (6 babies) and 10,690th for boys in the US (6 babies).
What does Hilal mean?
Arabic
“crescent moon”
The sighting of the hilal, the new crescent moon, marks the start of each month in the Islamic calendar, including Ramadan.
Is Hilal a girl's or a boy's name?
In recent years, Hilal has been given to girls and boys, mostly girls. In 2025, it was given to 6 boys in the UK and 5 girls and 6 boys in the US.
How popular is Hilal in the UK?
No girls in the UK were given it in 2025, or too few to be listed. Its busiest year was 2010, with 8 girls. 6 boys were also named Hilal in 2025 (3,329th for boys).
Half of all the girls named Hilal in the UK since 1996 were born between 2004 and 2016, the years shaded on the chart below.
Hilal in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 3 | #5,966 |
| 2023 | 4 | #4,915 |
| 2022 | 4 | #4,870 |
| 2021 | 3 | #5,824 |
| 2020 | 0 | – |
| 2019 | 0 | – |
| 2018 | 0 | – |
| 2017 | 0 | – |
| 2016 | 3 | #6,009 |
| 2015 | 0 | – |
| 2014 | 0 | – |
| 2013 | 0 | – |
| 2012 | 0 | – |
| 2011 | 0 | – |
| 2010 | 8 | #2,992 |
| 2009 | 4 | #4,795 |
| 2008 | 3 | #5,772 |
| 2007 | 4 | #4,494 |
| 2006 | 3 | #5,259 |
| 2005 | 2 | #6,264 |
| 2004 | 3 | #4,789 |
| 2003 | 5 | #3,233 |
| 2002 | 3 | #4,284 |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 3 | #4,074 |
| 1999 | 0 | – |
| 1998 | 0 | – |
| 1997 | 1 | #5,110 |
How popular is Hilal in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #10,690among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 6about 1 in 280,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Too rare to calltoo few babies to tell
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 6 boys in the US were named Hilal, making it the 10,690th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 10,599th. Its busiest year was 2022, with 12 boys. It first appears in the records in 1997. 5 girls were also named Hilal in 2025 (14,937th for girls).
It has been given to fewer boys each year for the last 3 years. 2025 had fewer boys named Hilal than any year since 2020.
Half of all the boys named Hilal in the US since 1880 were born between 2007 and 2023, the years shaded on the chart below.
Hilal in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 6 | #10,690 |
| 2024 | 7 | #9,888 |
| 2023 | 8 | #8,916 |
| 2022 | 12 | #6,822 |
| 2021 | 9 | #8,161 |
| 2020 | 6 | #10,599 |
| 2019 | 0 | – |
| 2018 | 6 | #10,754 |
| 2017 | 6 | #10,770 |
| 2016 | 0 | – |
| 2015 | 0 | – |
| 2014 | 0 | – |
| 2013 | 0 | – |
| 2012 | 0 | – |
| 2011 | 0 | – |
| 2010 | 0 | – |
| 2009 | 0 | – |
| 2008 | 0 | – |
| 2007 | 8 | #8,909 |
| 2006 | 0 | – |
| 2005 | 0 | – |
| 2004 | 0 | – |
| 2003 | 7 | #8,636 |
| 2002 | 0 | – |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 0 | – |
| 1999 | 0 | – |
| 1998 | 0 | – |
| 1997 | 5 | #9,259 |
Names like Hilal
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Hamza Zahir Zayan Musab Zayaan Zayd Ahmir Khaza Habib Faisal Zayyan Arham
Names related to Hilal
More Arabic names
Muhammad Layla Mohammed Lyla Mohammad Zara Aaliyah Amir Amira Fatima Ali Yahya Zayn Aisha Omar Zahra
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Hilal: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/hilal, updated 20 October 2026.