Too feminine?

I actually don't mind it. Your call OP

I don't think it's a feminine name.
I think if you like it then use it because I doubt that he would be at school with other Hillarys.
It's not like calling him Sophie when there will be a lot of Sophies at school if that makes sense.
There are a lot of awful boys names being used at present, far worse than Hillary

Don't like it for either a girl or a boy.

Yeah I always thought it was too feminine on dr Hilary jones as well. I wouldn't use it.

I like it. It's a completely unisex name to me. I don't think of Hillary Clinton at all - probably because it's spelled differently. I thought of Hilary Benn and Dr Hilary Jones. And strangely, although it's his surname, I always think of Edmund Hillary, the Everest climber, so it has a bit of an adventurous vibe to me.

He’ll hate you for it!

Sorry, but it’s a no from me too. You’d have to have a thick skin to carry it off. I wouldn’t like to put that on my child.
Perhaps use it for a middle name, if you love it.

As a middle name? You could use it as a family "nickname"...

So sorry but it reminds me of Hilary Clinton 🙈

Sorry, I really don't like it. Its nice that it has meaning to you but I honestly think he would hate it when he's older. I know you shouldn't have to worry about him ever being teased , but you know what kids are like at high school, chances are he would have the piss taken and he'd hate his name

Weirdly - if this name was on a woman (and I say woman because I can't imagine it on a child - boy or girl) I wouldn't think of it at all as a 'feminine' name but on a male - yes very!
When I was a child my parents were friends with a couple called Lesley and Hilary and to this day I still get confused about who is the male and who is the female!

If you love it, use it.
You would probably not get the comments if the name you chose was Ashley.

Far too feminine. Traditionally a male name, sure, but that doesn't mean anything really. Meanings and associations of words change over time.

It's awful

Well I think it depends a but on your lifestyle OP tbh.

If you will privately educate your son through prep & secondary & beyond & you move in circles with family names, then yes sure. I know a paternal line where all first sons are called Abraham regardless . In some of these families Hilary wouldn't make a dent.

But if you're educating at state school & your boy will be in a class of Kadens, Jaydens, Marcels, Curtis, Harrisons etc where family names are not generally used, then Christ no.

I'm in camp 2 and have a nine year old & poor little Hilary would stand out a mile in Year 4 for all the wrong reasons. And beyond school think about jobs and interviews and a 40 year old Hilary introducing himself at a business meetings with that tired little laugh he's perfected since an early age & the usual 'I'm Hilary, yes its not a girl's name, yes I'm positive' etc.

Plus I work in a male dominated environment & as much as you like to think people have moved on from school, they haven't and poor Hilary will still be teased behind his back & sometimes to his face even in a professional workplace.

Just don't do it, you're naming a human not a hamster.

It's interesting though. There is another thread at the moment debating Carroll for a boy. I wonder if some slightly more androgynous boys names are due for a come-back.

So OP I reckon if you love it, use it. I doubt his peers will have any preconceptions about the name as there really aren't any little girl Hilarys running around the playground & by the time they become politically aware Mr Benn and Mrs Clinton may have both retired.

(I'm not having any more babies myself but perhaps I can call a future boy cat Aubrey)

My friend’s DH’s name is Linsey. He’s had 40+ years of showing up at school, job interviews, appointments etc and people being surprised that he isn’t a girl. I gather that he really isn’t a fan of having a ‘feminine’ name.

It's awful for a boy or a girl. However far worse for a boy. I can guarantee 15 years down the line your son wont thank you for calling him Hilary

Reading threads like this I'm am so very glad my parents chose for me a pretty but very 'safe' name. I'd hate to be encumbered with a name generally associated with the opposite sex.

I wouldn’t give a child a name that was used for the opposite sex at all. My niece has one of the names listed by @BertandRussell and is going through primary school with 2 boys in her class who also have the name. As a consequence, she is now referred to as “Peter the girl” or girl Peter”at all times by the other children in the class. People are still shocked when she tells them her name, or if they have a register and call out “Peter Smith” and see a girl coming towards them. There are so many other names to use, no need to give a child a burden from birth.

I dont think its feminine sounding but I dont like the name.
Hillary Clinton is who I immediately think of too

I think it's fine. If you love it, you should choose it. It's not like it's an especially common name for either boys or girls, and I can think of at least as many of each.

So it's OK to call girls Michael and James and Elliott and Donovan and Dylan but a boy's name with the slightest hint of "girl germs" is off limits. Now I wonder why that it?

I love the name Aubrey which is also sadly viewed these days as more of a girls name. Very annoying (It was still on my list for boys, but very much not on my husband's list, although Evelyn was on his boys list...)

It’s much like Beverley now I’d say, was unisex but now pretty much a girls name.

It’s not massively feminine in my opinion but no doubt there would be a certain amount of teasing and people automatically assuming he is a girl.

Such a shame to rule out names for fairly stupid reasons like this.