Hillard
A surname usually explained as “hill yard” or “the yard by the hill,” though it may sometimes be a later spelling of Hilliard.
The #5,585 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 49,614 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname is generally taken from Middle English elements meaning “hill” + “yard” or “enclosure,” so the original sense would be someone living by a hill-plot, hill-garth, or hill-enclosure. Some 19th-century writers also treated Hillard as a spelling variant of Hilliard, so the forms were not always kept distinct in practice. Because the evidence is old and sometimes inconsistent, the safest explanation is a local topographic surname based on a dwelling near a hill-side enclosure.
History
The name appears in medieval English records, and later surname writers cite early spellings such as Hillard alongside Hilliard and related forms. In modern English-speaking countries it has usually remained a relatively uncommon surname. The spelling overlap with Hilliard means some family lines may have been recorded under both forms over time.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One source explicitly glosses Hillard as “at the hill-garth,” a vivid old phrase for a place-name style surname.
From the historical record
“quite possible, viz. Shipward, the guardian of a ship ; cf. Hillard for Mil] ward. John Shipward, mayor of Briuol, 1477: BarrEtt'a HiM. oCBrinol.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances