US rank #4554 Boys' name Peak 1947 160,457 births

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.

1880s6001890s7891900s15131910s65991920s222891930s323361940s377561950s238781960s251341970s52051980s18151990s11532000s8452010s4232020s122
#4554
of 14,243 boys in use

More common than 68% of names given to boys today.

1940s
Peak decade

24% of everyone ever named Bill was born in this single decade.

1947
Single peak year

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 1,000

Total births

160,457

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

1947

4,681 births that year

Strongest decade: 1940s

Current rank

#4,554

Among boys

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Bill popularity over time — boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880

Outside the top 1,000
Peak year (1947)
4,681
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
-2,00002,0004,0006,000 202420051986196719481929191018911880 53

Bill popularity over time — girls

716 total births recorded since 1908 (Bill as girls' name)

Unisex variant — 716 births
010203040 198619631949194119331925191719091908 5

Bill by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1940s
Peak decade
1940s
37,756 births that decade — 24% of Bill's all-time total
1880s6001890s7891900s15131910s65991920s222891930s323361940s377561950s238781960s251341970s52051980s18151990s11532000s8452010s4232020s122

Bill by state

Where Bill concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Bill
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%
California share of Bill's total US births 11.2%
Even split

17,954 of 160,457 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Bill appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Bill?
160,457 babies have been named Bill since 1880. It currently ranks #4554 among boys. The peak year was 1947 with 4,681 births.
When was Bill most popular?
Bill was most popular in the 1940s decade with 37,756 total births. The single peak year was 1947.
Where is Bill most popular?
The top states for the name Bill are California (17,954 births), Texas (10,901 births), Illinois (9,352 births).
How long has the name Bill been used?
Bill has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Bill?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Billy, Billie, Bilal, Billey, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

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.