Boys' name · since 1880
Billy
Billy has 384,233 recorded births since 1880 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1934 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #90 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #1,068 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 384,233
- born since 1880
- 1930s
- peak decade
Yes -- Billy is the #1068 most popular boys' name in the U.S. today, with 384,233 recorded since 1880.
Billy has 384,233 recorded births among boys since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #1068 as of the latest data, more common than 92% of boys, busiest in the 1930s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #90 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #1,068 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 384,233 born since 1880
- 1930s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Billy ranks #90 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,068 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 384,233 born since 1880, peaking in the 1930s.
- #90 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #1,068 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 384,233
- born since 1880
- 1930s
- peak decade
Billy's 384,233 recorded births place it above 99.8% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Texas.
How Billy compares
384,233 Top 1% higher than 99% of 13,930 names currently given to boys
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Billy's all-time total is 1,041x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Billy | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 384,233 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 9,562 | 34 | 22,252 |
Billy's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Billy's full recorded timeline at 1953, 43% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 57% in the earlier half -- a fairly even split across the full record. Its quietest year on record was 1889, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1934 peak of 9,562 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Billy popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1934)
- 9,562
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Billy popularity over time - girls
5,432 total births recorded since 1899 (Billy as girls' name)
Billy by decade
1930s is the heaviest window (88,341 births, 23% of the file).
1930s was Billy's strongest decade.
88,341 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 23% of all-time use.
Billy births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 63
1880s
63 births
- 1890s 99
1890s
99 births
- 1900s 209
1900s
209 births
- 1910s 3,016
1910s
3,016 births
- 1920s
1920s
42,096 births
- 1930s
1930s
88,341 births
- 1940s
1940s
67,833 births
- 1950s
1950s
59,277 births
- 1960s
1960s
48,472 births
- 1970s 33,217
1970s
33,217 births
- 1980s 20,650
1980s
20,650 births
- 1990s 10,942
1990s
10,942 births
- 2000s 5,670
2000s
5,670 births
- 2010s 3,099
2010s
3,099 births
- 2020s 1,249
2020s
1,249 births
What this shows Peak: 1930s at 88,341 births (23% of all-time use).
How Billy compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Billy's total volume
Billy by state
Where Billy concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Texas | | 61,210 | 15.9% |
| #2 | Tennessee | | 27,927 | 7.3% |
| #3 | Oklahoma | | 23,571 | 6.1% |
| #4 | North Carolina | | 23,326 | 6.1% |
| #5 | Alabama | | 22,765 | 5.9% |
| #6 | Kentucky | | 20,728 | 5.4% |
| #7 | Arkansas | | 20,725 | 5.4% |
| #8 | Georgia | | 18,029 | 4.7% |
61,210 of 384,233 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Billy appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Billy? ▼
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When was Billy most popular? ▼
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What to do with Billy's data
- Billy's decade-level peak was the 1930s (88,341 total births); usage has since declined to 1,249 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- Texas records the most Billys (61,210 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Texas names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Billy
Nearby Names Like Billy
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Billy
Compare Billy side by side: Billy vs Bill Billy vs Billie Billy vs Bilal
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Billy
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Billy: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1934)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Billy draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.