Pilar

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Girl · Spanish (Latin pila)

Pilar

Say it: pee-LAR

Try it with your surname

Meaning

Spanish 'pillar', from Nuestra Señora del Pilar, the Virgin of the Pillar venerated in Zaragoza.

Certainscholars agree on this meaning.

Especially common in Aragon, and across Spain in the 20th century.

Its wave through time

Most used in the 2000s

In the United States

6,014 babies given this name since 1896
At its height in 2005, about 1 in 13,500 girls
47 babies in 2020

Through the ages

Used by

Spanish Argentine Andean Mexican

The family of the name

Other spellings: Pili

Portuguese	Pilar

Names worth a look

ConcepciónGirlSpanish 'conception', from the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary.Colonial · peak 1925

InèsGirlSpanish form of Agnes, from Greek hagnē 'pure, holy'.Middle Ages · peak 1911

MontserratGirlCatalan 'serrated mountain', from the mountain and Benedictine abbey near Barcelona whose Black Virgin is patroness…Renaissance · peak 2014

EulaliaGirlGreek eulalos, 'sweetly speaking, well-spoken'.Rome · peak 1893

SoledadGirlSpanish 'solitude', from Nuestra Señora de la Soledad, the Virgin in her solitude after the Crucifixion.Colonial · peak 1901

JosefaGirlSpanish feminine of José (Joseph), from Hebrew 'he will add'.Colonial · peak 1895 · forgotten

Where this comes from

Calendars of saints and name days
National birth statistics of European countries source
Parish baptism registers
National census records of the 19th and 20th centuries
United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source

Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.

Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.