Bill
Bill was given to 18 boys in 2025, #5,234 among boys’ names; 161,190 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 65,400 Americans named Bill and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (41% of everyone recorded); the median is 68 years old and half are between 62 and 79.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Bill by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Bill mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Bill is “a diminutive of the male given name William.”
Also “a diminutive of the male given name Bilal.”
Hypocorism of William. It is unclear how the initial W became a B; this could have been part of the medieval trend of swapping letters, similar to Dick for Rick.
/bɪl/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Bill?
#5,234 among boys’ names, 2025
Bill fell from #3,376 in 2015 to #5,234 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 17.2 to 10.5 per million.
4,688 babies in 1947, the peak
Bill peaked in 1947, when 4,688 babies were given it (4,681 boys, #76 among boys’ names). The 18 births of 2025 are under 1% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 18 | #5,234 | 0.01 |
| 2024 | 22 | #4,581 | 0.01 |
| 2023 | 22 | #4,617 | 0.01 |
| 2022 | 26 | #4,101 | 0.01 |
| 2021 | 23 | #4,378 | 0.01 |
| 2020 | 29 | #3,657 | 0.02 |
| 2019 | 28 | #3,802 | 0.02 |
| 2018 | 48 | #2,618 | 0.03 |
| 2017 | 42 | #2,843 | 0.02 |
| 2016 | 39 | #2,999 | 0.02 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 33 | #3,376 | 0.02 |
| 2014 | 47 | #2,582 | 0.02 |
| 2013 | 50 | #2,463 | 0.03 |
| 2012 | 41 | #2,872 | 0.02 |
| 2011 | 42 | #2,802 | 0.02 |
| 2010 | 53 | #2,376 | 0.03 |
| 2009 | 58 | #2,253 | 0.03 |
| 2008 | 73 | #1,951 | 0.04 |
| 2007 | 85 | #1,743 | 0.04 |
| 2006 | 85 | #1,670 | 0.04 |
| 2005 | 86 | #1,594 | 0.04 |
| 2004 | 89 | #1,501 | 0.04 |
| 2003 | 81 | #1,561 | 0.04 |
| 2002 | 74 | #1,618 | 0.04 |
| 2001 | 100 | #1,303 | 0.05 |
| 2000 | 114 | #1,187 | 0.06 |
| 1999 | 100 | #1,239 | 0.05 |
| 1998 | 100 | #1,221 | 0.05 |
| 1997 | 103 | #1,166 | 0.05 |
| 1996 | 116 | #1,047 | 0.06 |
| 1995 | 101 | #1,133 | 0.05 |
| 1994 | 110 | #1,061 | 0.06 |
| 1993 | 145 | #884 | 0.07 |
| 1992 | 138 | #897 | 0.07 |
| 1991 | 128 | #933 | 0.06 |
| 1990 | 112 | #991 | 0.05 |
| 1989 | 129 | #883 | 0.06 |
| 1988 | 145 | #784 | 0.08 |
| 1987 | 137 | #786 | 0.07 |
| 1986 | 131 | #792 | 0.07 |
| 1985 | 176 | #665 | 0.10 |
| 1984 | 166 | #674 | 0.09 |
| 1983 | 205 | #599 | 0.11 |
| 1982 | 244 | #554 | 0.13 |
| 1981 | 231 | #562 | 0.13 |
| 1980 | 251 | #540 | 0.14 |
| 1979 | 273 | #505 | 0.16 |
| 1978 | 267 | #496 | 0.16 |
| 1977 | 324 | #441 | 0.20 |
| 1976 | 364 | #406 | 0.23 |
| 1975 | 409 | #385 | 0.26 |
| 1974 | 466 | #356 | 0.30 |
| 1973 | 519 | #330 | 0.33 |
| 1972 | 686 | #279 | 0.42 |
| 1971 | 878 | #253 | 0.50 |
| 1970 | 1,020 | #233 | 0.55 |
| 1969 | 1,075 | #219 | 0.60 |
| 1968 | 1,161 | #201 | 0.67 |
| 1967 | 1,275 | #190 | 0.73 |
| 1966 | 1,556 | #173 | 0.87 |
| 1965 | 2,060 | #151 | 1.1 |
| 1964 | 2,737 | #126 | 1.4 |
| 1963 | 3,193 | #113 | 1.6 |
| 1962 | 3,574 | #108 | 1.7 |
| 1961 | 4,000 | #104 | 1.9 |
| 1960 | 4,501 | #95 | 2.1 |
| 1959 | 4,596 | #93 | 2.2 |
| 1958 | 4,221 | #99 | 2.0 |
| 1957 | 3,118 | #123 | 1.4 |
| 1956 | 1,957 | #159 | 0.93 |
| 1955 | 1,656 | #171 | 0.80 |
| 1954 | 1,526 | #176 | 0.75 |
| 1953 | 1,522 | #176 | 0.77 |
| 1952 | 1,588 | #168 | 0.82 |
| 1951 | 1,653 | #157 | 0.88 |
| 1950 | 2,040 | #131 | 1.1 |
| 1949 | 2,765 | #106 | 1.6 |
| 1948 | 3,926 | #84 | 2.2 |
| 1947 | 4,681 | #76 | 2.6 |
| 1946 | 4,354 | #72 | 2.7 |
| 1945 | 3,711 | #66 | 2.8 |
| 1944 | 3,815 | #66 | 2.8 |
| 1943 | 3,990 | #65 | 2.8 |
| 1942 | 3,794 | #65 | 2.7 |
| 1941 | 3,453 | #68 | 2.8 |
| 1940 | 3,267 | #67 | 2.8 |
| 1939 | 3,161 | #67 | 2.9 |
| 1938 | 3,113 | #67 | 2.8 |
| 1937 | 3,119 | #64 | 2.9 |
| 1936 | 3,166 | #61 | 3.1 |
| 1935 | 3,282 | #60 | 3.2 |
| 1934 | 3,534 | #59 | 3.4 |
| 1933 | 3,223 | #59 | 3.3 |
| 1932 | 3,362 | #58 | 3.2 |
| 1931 | 3,218 | #57 | 3.1 |
| 1930 | 3,160 | #59 | 2.9 |
| 1929 | 2,947 | #63 | 2.7 |
| 1928 | 2,976 | #64 | 2.7 |
| 1927 | 2,863 | #69 | 2.5 |
| 1926 | 2,643 | #74 | 2.4 |
| 1925 | 2,381 | #84 | 2.1 |
| 1924 | 2,067 | #92 | 1.8 |
| 1923 | 1,833 | #98 | 1.7 |
| 1922 | 1,675 | #104 | 1.5 |
| 1921 | 1,482 | #121 | 1.3 |
| 1920 | 1,421 | #121 | 1.3 |
| 1919 | 1,196 | #130 | 1.2 |
| 1918 | 1,038 | #143 | 1.0 |
| 1917 | 891 | #147 | 1.0 |
| 1916 | 854 | #147 | 1.0 |
| 1915 | 746 | #157 | 0.88 |
| 1914 | 559 | #159 | 0.85 |
| 1913 | 466 | #156 | 0.91 |
| 1912 | 347 | #168 | 0.81 |
| 1911 | 243 | #135 | 1.1 |
| 1910 | 259 | #124 | 1.3 |
| 1909 | 205 | #132 | 1.3 |
| 1908 | 164 | #144 | 1.1 |
| 1907 | 174 | #138 | 1.2 |
| 1906 | 128 | #154 | 1.0 |
| 1905 | 147 | #144 | 1.1 |
| 1904 | 128 | #149 | 1.0 |
| 1903 | 129 | #144 | 1.1 |
| 1902 | 138 | #137 | 1.1 |
| 1901 | 104 | #152 | 1.0 |
| 1900 | 196 | #117 | 1.3 |
| 1899 | 83 | #174 | 0.78 |
| 1898 | 90 | #175 | 0.73 |
| 1897 | 84 | #182 | 0.74 |
| 1896 | 86 | #190 | 0.72 |
| 1895 | 90 | #175 | 0.77 |
| 1894 | 73 | #200 | 0.63 |
| 1893 | 71 | #202 | 0.63 |
| 1892 | 75 | #201 | 0.61 |
| 1891 | 65 | #192 | 0.64 |
| 1890 | 72 | #186 | 0.65 |
| 1889 | 61 | #208 | 0.55 |
| 1888 | 58 | #231 | 0.48 |
| 1887 | 63 | #193 | 0.62 |
| 1886 | 64 | #208 | 0.58 |
| 1885 | 66 | #195 | 0.61 |
| 1884 | 82 | #171 | 0.72 |
| 1883 | 50 | #215 | 0.48 |
| 1882 | 61 | #207 | 0.54 |
| 1881 | 42 | #237 | 0.42 |
| 1880 | 53 | #221 | 0.48 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Bill a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Bill has been given almost only to boys: 716 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Bill: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Bill, and how old are they?
65,400 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 41% of the 161,190 Americans ever recorded as Bill. The median Bill alive today is 68 years old; half are between 62 and 79.
The 2020 Census counted 77,823 people named Bill (300 women and girls, 77,523 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 80,923 born in the U.S. The Census count is 4% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 12,300 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 38,200 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 10,900 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 2,290 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 1,260 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 424 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Bill born?
The states with the most babies named Bill are California, Texas and Illinois, with 25% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 17,954 | not ranked | 1.8× |
| Texas | 10,911 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Illinois | 9,352 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Ohio | 9,077 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Oklahoma | 7,766 | not ranked | 2.8× |
| Missouri | 7,093 | not ranked | 1.7× |
| Michigan | 6,687 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Indiana | 5,392 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Kentucky | 4,720 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Washington | 4,664 | not ranked | 2.1× |
Where Bill is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Bill is most over-represented in Oklahoma: since 1910 it was given 2.8 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Bill with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 6 names spelled alike, given to 167,483 babies since 1880, Bill is the most given (96% of them). In 2025 it was given to 18 of their 212 babies (8.5%), the second most given that year.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Bill
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Bill and names like it
- Compare Bill and BilalBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1940sBill peaked in 1947.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Bill since 1910.
- The top names of 1947The year the most babies were named Bill.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Bill alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with BMost given first.