The female name Hildegard derived from the Old High German words hild (=war or battle) and gard (=protection) and means "protecting battle-maid" Variant spellings include Hildegarde. The Polish, Portuguese, Slovene and Spanish version is Hildegarda; the Italian version is Ildegarda. Hildegárd is a Hungarian version. An ancient German version of the name was Hildegardis. Persons named Hildegard, Hildegarde or Hildegart include:
- Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179), Christian saint
- Hildegard, wife of Charlemagne, third wife of Charlemagne
- Hildegard, daughter of Louis or Matilda, daughter of Emperor Louis the Pious and Ermengarde of Hesbaye
- Hildegard Behrens (1937–2009), German opera singer
- Hildegard Knef (1925–2002), German actress, singer and writer
- Hildegarde (1906–2005), American cabaret singer
- Hildegarde Flanner (1899–1987), American poet and activist
- Hildegarde Dolson Lockridge (1908–1981), poet, playwright and novelist
- Hildegarde Naughton, Irish politician and mayor of Galway
- Hildegart Rodríguez Carballeira, raised to be the perfect woman
Fictional characters so named include:
- Hildegard von Mariendorf from Legend of Galactic Heroes
- Hildegarde (Marvel Comics), a Valkyrie
- Hildegarde Withers, in novels and films
- Hildegard von Krone, from the Soul series of fighting games
- Hildegarde T., from the anime and manga series Beelzebub (manga) by Ryūhei Tamura
- Hildegarde, in the Johann Strauss operetta Simplicius
- Hildegard Hummingbird, from the Mister Rogers' Neighborhood opera Bubbleland