What's in a name?
To the best of my knowledge, the nickname Hildy was first used in this family by my Grandfather, Dennis Wayne Hildebrandt. It was the nickname he was known by in both his racing supply business and in his own racing. One of the cars he used to race, a '34 Ford Roadster, is now owned and maintained by his son (my uncle) Vernon Hildebrandt, Sr., who owns Tru-Form Tool & Manufacturing.
I started using the nickname Hildy in the early 1990s, to distinguish myself from the hordes of other Daniels that were in my circle of aquaintances.