Jill is an English feminine given name, a short form of the name Gillian, which in turn originated as a

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...

variant of

Juliana Juliana (variants Julianna, Giuliana, Iuliana, Yuliana, etc) is a feminine given name which is the feminine version of the Roman name Julianus. Juliana or Giuliana was the name of a number of early saints, notably Saint Julian the Hospitaller, whi ...

. Jill was such a common name that it had an everygirl quality, as in the 15th century English nursery rhyme Jack and Jill. By the 17th century, the name had become a term for a "common street jade," implying promiscuous sexual behavior, and declined in usage in the

Anglosphere The Anglosphere, also known as the Anglo-American world, is a Western-led sphere of influence among the Anglophone countries. The core group of this sphere of influence comprises five developed countries that maintain close social, cultura ...

. Usage of the name increased again in the 20th century. The name was most used in English-speaking countries from the 1930s to the 1970s. It is currently well-used in the Netherlands.

People with the given name

* Jill Abramson (born 1954), American author, journalist, and academic * Jill Andrew, Canadian politician * Jill Andrews (born 1980), American singer-songwriter * Jill Astbury, Australian researcher into violence against women * Jill Balcon (1925–2009), British actress * Jill S. Barnholtz-Sloan, American biostatistician and data scientist * Jill Becker, American psychological researcher * Jill Biden (born 1951), American educator and the First Lady of the United States * Jill Brothers (born 1983), Canadian curler * Jill E. Brown (born 1950), African American aviator * Jill Carroll (born 1977), American journalist * Jill P. Carter (born 1964), American politician *

Jill Clayburgh Jill Clayburgh (April 30, 1944 – November 5, 2010) was an American actress known for her work in theater, television, and cinema. She received the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actr ...

(1944–2010), American actress * Jill Cooper (born 1949), British former professional tennis player * Jill Costello (1987–2010), American athlete and lung cancer activist * Jill Craigie (1911–1999), British film director and writer * Jill Craybas (born 1974), American tennis player * Jill Dando (1961–1999), British television presenter * Jill Dickman, Republican member of the Nevada Assembly * Jill Dillard (born 1991), American reality TV personality * Jill Ellis (born 1966), American football manager *

Jill Esmond Jill Esmond Moore (26 January 1908 – 28 July 1990) was an English stage and screen actress. Early life Esmond was born in London, the daughter of stage actors Henry V. Esmond and Eva Moore. Dramatist W.S. Gilbert and actress Maxine Elliott ...

(1908–1990), English actress * Jill Evans (born 1959), Welsh politician * Jill Filipovic (born 1983), American author and attorney * Jill Fisch, American professor at the

University of Pennsylvania Law School The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Carey Law, or Penn Law; previously University of Pennsylvania Law School) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Phi ...

Jill Frappier Jill Frappier is a British-Canadian voice actress. Frappier was born in Lord Louis Mountbatten's stately home, Broadlands, in Romsey, England. She moved to Canada in 1967 to work as a British hostess at the British pavilion during the 1967 ...

(born 1944), British voice actress * Jill Freedman (1939–2019), American photographer * Jill Furse (1915–1944), English actress *

Jill Gascoine Jill Viola Gascoine (11 April 1937 – 28 April 2020) was an English actress and novelist. She portrayed Detective Inspector Maggie Forbes in the 1980s television series ''The Gentle Touch'' and its spin-off series '' C.A.T.S. Eyes''. In the 1 ...

(1937−2020), English actress and novelist * Jill Gibbon, British artist * Jill Gibson (born 1942), American singer, songwriter, photographer, painter and sculptor * Jill Green, American dance educator and scholar * Jill Goodacre (born 1964), American model and actress *

Jill Halfpenny Jill Halfpenny (born 15 July 1975) is an English actress who first garnered attention playing Nicola Dobson in the coming-of-age BBC drama series '' Byker Grove'' (1989–1992). She became more widely known for her roles as Rebecca Hopkins on ...

(born 1975), English actress * Jill Hall (athlete) (born 1947), former athlete who competed for England in athletics events * Jill Haworth (1945–2011), English-American actress * Jill Harris, American voice actress * Jill Heinerth (born 1965), Canadian cave diver, underwater explorer, writer, photographer and film-maker * Jill Hennessy (born 1968), Canadian actress and musician * Jill Henselwood (born 1962), Canadian Equestrian Team member who competes in show jumping * Jill Holterman (born 1991), Dutch long-distance runner * Jill Horstead (born 1967), former competitive swimmer who represented Canada in international events during the 1980s * Jill Hunter (born 1966), English former distance runner * Jill Hutchison (born 1945), American retired women's basketball coach * Jill Idh, Swedish kickboxer * Jill Ireland (1936–1990), British actress * Jill Irving (born 1963), Canadian Equestrian Team athlete in dressage * Jill Janssens (born 2003), Belgian footballer * Jill Janus (1975–2018), American singer *

Jill Johnson Jill Anna Maria Johnson (born 24 May 1973) is a Swedish country and pop singer, songwriter and TV-host. She performed in the Melodifestivalen 1998 contest, winning with the song " Kärleken är" ("Love Is"), and represented Sweden at the Euro ...

(born 1973), Swedish singer * Jill Jones (disambiguation), several people * Jill Kelley (born 1975), Lebanese-American philanthropist, activist, and diplomatic advisor * Jill Kelley (born 1971), American pornographic actress, director and producer * Jill Kinmont Boothe (1936–2012), American alpine ski racer and schoolteacher * Jill Knight (1923–2022), British politician * Jill Koshiol, American cancer epidemiologist * Jill Larson (born 1947), American actress * Jill MacLean (born 1941), Canadian writer * Jill Martin (1938–2016), English musical theatre actress * Jill McKnight, Canadian politician * Jill Mellick, Jungian-oriented clinical psychologist * Jill Morris (born 1967), British diplomat * Jill Murphy (1949–2021), English writer and illustrator * Jill Norman, British editor and food writer * Jill Officer (born 1975), Canadian curler * Jill Ovens, Zealand trade unionist, politician, and activist * Jill Parrish (born 1961), American lawyer and judge * Jill Pizzotti (born 1966), American college basketball coach * Jill Roord (born 1997), Dutch professional footballer * Jill Savery (born 1972), American competitor in synchronised swimming and Olympic champion * Jill Scott (born 1972), American soul singer * Jill Sebastian (born 1950), American educational innovator, integrated public artist and multi-media artist * Jill Siegfried, American pharmacologist * Gillian Slattery, known as Jill Slattery (born 1945), British swimmer * Jill W. Smith, American philanthropist * Jill Sobule (1959–2025), American singer-songwriter * Jill Stanley, Canadian actress who was a cast member on the Canadian sketch comedy TV series ''

You Can't Do That on Television ''You Can't Do That on Television'' is a Canadian sketch comedy television series that aired locally in 1979 before airing in the United States in 1981. It featured adolescent and teenage actors performing in a sketch comedy format similar to A ...

'' * Jill Sterkel (born 1961), American former competition swimmer, Olympic champion, former world record-holder, and water polo player * Jill St. John (born 1940), American actress * Jill Talley (born 1962), American voice actress *

Jill Thompson Jill Thompson (born November 20, 1966) is an American comics artist, illustrator and writer who has worked for stage, film, and television. Well known for her work on Neil Gaiman's ''The Sandman (Vertigo), The Sandman'' characters and her own ''Sc ...

(born 1966), American illustrator and write * Jill Long Thompson (born 1952), American politician and academic * Jill Trenary (born 1968), American former figure skater *

Jill Vidal Jill Vidal () often referred to as Wei Si or simply as Jill, is a Hong Kong–based urban pop singer and actress. She is of Filipino, Korean, and Chinese ethnicity. Her twin sister, Janice Vidal, is also a singer in Hong Kong. Career Music ...

(born 1982), Hong Kong singer * Jill Viles (bor 1974), American writer * Jill Wagner (born 1979), American actress *

Jill Paton Walsh Gillian Honorine Mary Herbert, Baroness Hemingford, (née Bliss; 29 April 1937 – 18 October 2020), known professionally as Jill Paton Walsh, was an English novelist and children's writer. She may be known best for her Booker Prize-nominated ...

(1937–2020), English novelist and children's writer * Jill Watson (born 1963), American retired pair skater and coach * Jill Zarin, American television personality * Jill Zimmerman (born 1959), computer scientist and professor at Goucher College

Fictional characters

* Jill, a character in the nursery rhyme " Jack and Jill" * Jill Foster Abbott, a character on the soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'' * Jill Andersen, Riley's mother during the events of Disney Pixar's '' Inside Out''. She is not named in the film itself, but rather in supplementary material. * Genocide Jill, a serial killer and the alternate personality of Toko Fukawa from the ''

Danganronpa is a Japanese video game franchise created by Kazutaka Kodaka and developed and owned by Spike Chunsoft (formerly Spike). The series primarily surrounds various groups of apparent high-school students who are forced into murdering each oth ...

'' series * Jillian "Jill" Mastrano Dragomir, a character from Richelle Mead's ''Bloodlines'' (book series) * Jill Green,

Rachel Green Rachel Karen Green is a fictional character, one of the six main characters who appeared in the American sitcom ''Friends''. Portrayed by Jennifer Aniston, the character was created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, and appeared in all of ...

's sister in NBC sitcom ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane (producer), David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting List of Friends episodes, ten seasons. With an ensemble cast ...

'', played by

Reese Witherspoon Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Reese Witherspoon, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Aw ...

* Jill Masterson, from ''Goldfinger'' * Jill Pembroke, a character in the American sitcom television series '' Charles in Charge'' *

Jill Pole Jill Pole is a major character from C. S. Lewis' '' Chronicles of Narnia'' series. She appears in '' The Silver Chair'' and '' The Last Battle.'' Appearances ''The Silver Chair'' Jill Pole first appears in ''The Silver Chair''. She and Eustace ...

, a main character in C. S. Lewis' ''The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair'' * Jill Roberts, a main character in '' Scream 4'' * Jill Taylor, the wife of Tim Taylor from the ABC sitcom

Home Improvement The concept of home improvement, home renovation or remodeling is the process of renovating, making improvements or making additions to one's home. Home improvement can consist of projects that upgrade an existing home interior (such as electr ...

* Jill Valentine, a character from the ''

Resident Evil ''Resident Evil'', known as in Japan, is a Japanese horror game series and media franchise created by Capcom. It consists of survival horror, third-person shooter and first-person shooter games, with players typically surviving in environments ...

'' video games series * Dra. Jill Victorino, a character from the Filipino drama series '' The Broken Marriage Vow'' * Jill Warrick, the lead female character from Final Fantasy XVI * Jill, a character in Katharine Kerr's ''Deverry Cycle'' book series * Jill (Julliane Stingray), the main character of

VA-11 Hall-A ''VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action'' (stylized as ''VA-11 HALL-A'') is a 2016 visual novel developed by Venezuelan studio Sukeban Games and published by Ysbryd Games. The game was initially released for Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux ...

, a visual novel.

Jill as middle name

* Amy-Jill Levine (born 1956), feminist theology professor * J. Jill Suitor, sociology professor * Suzanne Jill Levine (born 1946), American poet and translator *

Lara Jill Miller Lara Jill Miller (born April 20, 1967) is an American actress and lawyer. She has played Samantha "Sam" Kanisky in the 1980s sitcom '' Gimme a Break!'' and Kathy on '' The Amanda Show''. She voices the title characters in '' Clifford's Puppy Da ...

(born 1967), American actress

References

{{given name, cat=none English feminine given names Feminine given names English given names