Bill — #4554 US boys' name
160,457 babies named Bill in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1947. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
More common than 68% of names given to boys today.
24% of everyone ever named Bill was born in this single decade.
4,681 babies were named Bill in 1947 — its busiest year on record.
What the Data Says About Bill
The Social Security Administration has registered 160,457 babies named Bill between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Bill currently holds the #4554 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1947, when 4,681 babies received it in a single year.
Decade-level aggregation shows that Bill performed strongest in the 1940s, accumulating 37,756 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Bill shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in California, which accounts for 17,954 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Texas and Illinois. In total, SSA state-level files list Bill in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.
No etymological entry is currently available for Bill in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 160,457 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.
Bill at a glance
Outside the top 1,000Peak year
Current rank
Active since
Bill popularity over time — boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880
- Peak year (1947)
- 4,681
- Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
Currently ranks #4554 among boys.
160,457 total births across 145 years of SSA records. Peaked in 1947 with 4,681 births in a single year.
Bill popularity over time — girls
716 total births recorded since 1908 (Bill as girls' name)
Unisex use remains the minority pattern
The girls' variant of Bill accounts for 0% of total recorded use across both genders.
Bill by decade
Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance
- Peak decade
- 1940s
- 37,756 births that decade — 24% of Bill's all-time total
Bill decade highlights
- Peak decade 37,756 births
- Runner-up 32,336 births
- Modern era share 2010s + 2020s
- Decades tracked with recorded births
1940s was Bill's strongest decade
37,756 babies received the name during that ten-year window — about 24% of all-time use.
Bill by state
Where Bill concentrates geographically — total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 17,954 | 11.2% |
| #2 | Texas | | 10,901 | 6.8% |
| #3 | Illinois | | 9,352 | 5.8% |
| #4 | Ohio | | 9,077 | 5.7% |
| #5 | Oklahoma | | 7,766 | 4.8% |
| #6 | Missouri | | 7,093 | 4.4% |
| #7 | Michigan | | 6,688 | 4.2% |
| #8 | Indiana | | 5,392 | 3.4% |
17,954 of 160,457 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Top 5 states
- California 11.2% of nationwide
- Texas 6.8% of nationwide
- Illinois 5.8% of nationwide
- Ohio 5.7% of nationwide
- Oklahoma 4.8% of nationwide
Recorded in 51 of 51 SSA jurisdictions
California accounts for 11.2% of all recorded births nationwide — a relatively diffuse profile for this name.
Bill appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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Keep exploring Bill
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Data Sources
Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.