The surname Hill is a local name derived from what is believed to be the Old English word ‘hyll’. The name originally meant ‘he who dwells at, by, or on the hill’. The reasons for its popularity are self-evident, in much the same way as other local names from medieval village life-such as Green, Hall and Ford.

There are, however, two other rare derivations of Hill. In one case it is a pet name derived from the first names of German origin beginning with Hild- (as in Hildegard), where the prefix ‘Hild-’ means ‘battle’. In very rare cases Hill is an abbreviation of the first name Hilary, which came from the Latin and means ‘cheerful’. (We get the word ‘hilarious’ from the same root.) In former times, Hilary was more popular as a male first name.

The name Hill is mentioned in records as far back as the 1191 Pipe Rolls for Norfolk, where one Gilbert del Hill is mentioned. ‘Del’ here is not Spanish or Italian, but a corruption of the Norman French ‘de la’, meaning ‘of the’, as in Walter de la Hille whose name occurs in the 1273 Hundred Rolls.

As usual, there are a number of variations on this simple local name. Hillhouse (which corrupts to Hillis and Hillers and Hillas) means ‘dweller at the house on the hill’. Hilling seems to represent an Old English word ‘hylling’, ‘hill- dweller’, though Hillman can derive from two sources. It can either mean the obvious ‘dweller by the slope’, or it can mean ‘servant of Hild’ (who would originally have been ‘Hild’s man’). The widespread Heilman is also a corruption of this last name.

Several other names which seem to contain Hill are not derived from it. The most widespread of these are Hilliar (a form of Helliar, an occupational name, which derives from the Old English for a slater or tiler), and Hilliard (a form of Hildyard, from the Old German personal name Hildigard).

The green belts which surround most major British cities are the direct descendants of the ‘open spaces’ created by pioneering social and housing reformer, Octavia Hill (1838— 1912), who was convinced that escape from overcrowding reduced crime and poverty.

Two Hills have been notable Grand Prix drivers: Phil Hill (b. 1927), the first American to win the World Championship (1961), and Graham Hill (1929—75) who took the Indianapolis 500 in his first attempt (1961), won Le Mans in 1962 as well as the Grand Prix Championship; he won the latter again in 1968. Shortly after retiring he died in a plane crash.

Sir Rowland Hill (1795—1879) reorganised the postal system and introduced the penny post (1840), the precursor of all modern postal systems. His first stamp, the famous ‘Penny Black’ with its ‘bun’ outline of Queen Victoria’s head, is now a collectors’ item (an uncancelled specimen in prime condition costs over £2,000). These stamps established a precedent still in force: Britain’s name never appears on her stamps. Later, as Chairman of the London and Brighton Railway, Sir Rowland pioneered both express train service and special excursion fares.

Henry Hill (1809—81), one of Britain’s all-time great punters, also owned an exceptionally successful stable. He won the Derby in 1846, the Two Thousand Guineas in 1850 and the Goodwood Cup in 1856-all races he had bet on heavily: he needed the winnings to offset his heavy losses on the Stock Exchange (£40,000 in one year alone).

Hill’s Equation in physiology is a mathematical formula for the shortening of skeletal muscle when load is increased.

The first Hillman car, then called Hillman-Coatelen, was built in 1907.

Americans Patty and Mildred Hill wrote one of the world’s most popular songs, ‘Happy Birthday to You’ (1896). Not wishing to capitalise on this happy tune, it was not copyrighted until 1936. All royalties go to charity.

Sir Rowland Hill was Lord Mayor of London in 1549.

Largely due to its descriptive nature, Hill is remarkably prevalent both as the name of towns and cities and as a geographical name. The United Kingdom has 38 towns and cities whose names are related, including 4 Hillheads and 3 Hillsides. The number of related towns and cities elsewhere include 7 in Canada, 3 in Australia, 2 in New Zealand, 3 in South Africa and 42 in the United States (including an impressive 14 Hillsboros).

With about 150,000 namesakes Hill is the 30th most popular surname in England and Wales. (The name is not common enough throughout Scotland to be counted separately.) Hill is notably popular in and around Leicester where an estimated one in about 270 families bears the name. In descending numerical order Birmingham, Nottingham and Sheffield are other Hill strongholds. Around the world Hills are most common in Canberra (one in 590 families), Sydney (one in 618) and Melbourne (one in 663). The United States has more Hills than the entire population of Coventry-an estimated total of just under 435,000 makes this their 32nd most popular surname.