Bill
Feminine · “will and helmet”
Bill is given to boys far more often — 160,474 boys against 716 girls since 1880. See Bill as a boy name
Bill has been a name in its own right on American certificates for as long as there have been records, rather than only a short form. The word it matches is worth a moment: a bank bill, a bill in Congress, a restaurant bill and a papal bull are all the same word, and it started as a lump of lead.
How old is the name Bill?
Bill first appears in US birth records in 1908 — 117 years ago. The typical Bill alive today was born around 1930, making them about 95 years old. About 200 people named Bill are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Bill most popular?
Bill peaked in 1932, reaching #1237 nationally. See the whole 1932 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Willahelm to Bill
The story of Bill
A papal document is called a bull because of the lead seal that hung from it on a cord — bulla, a bubble or a round swelling, which is what the blob of lead looked like. The seal was the guarantee, so the name of the seal became the name of the document, and then of any formal written instrument: a bill of lading, a bill of sale, a bill in Parliament, the bill a waiter brings. From there it reached money, because a banknote began life as a written promise rather than as currency. Separately, the same king whose name this one shortens ordered a survey of England that was so thorough and so final that people nicknamed it after the Day of Judgment: there was no appeal from what it recorded. The nickname, not the official title, is what the book has been called ever since.
Meaning
will and helmet
The formal name behind it joins the Germanic words for will or desire and for a helmet. How that name produced this one is a peculiarity of English: a handful of names were given rhyming familiar forms, which is also how Robert produced Bob and Richard produced Dick, and no other language does it.
How the name formed
- Willahelm
- William
- Will
- Bill
Related forms: Wilhelm · Guillermo · Guillaume · Guglielmo · Willem
Pronouncing Bill
BILL
One syllable. The doubled l is an English spelling habit after a short vowel and adds nothing; almost no one-syllable English word ends in a single l after a short vowel.
Nicknames for Bill
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1908
- Most girls named
- 193234 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1237reached in 1932
- Change vs 1974
- −16.7%5 in 1986, from 6
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Bill in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Wilhelm in German — related form
- Guillermo in Spanish — related form
- Guillaume in French — related form
- Guglielmo in Italian — related form
- Willem in Dutch — related form
Bills among us
people named Bill are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Bill sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It is understood instantly by everyone and needs no explanation anywhere.
- One syllable is quick, clear and hard to mishear across a room.
- The formal name is available behind it whenever an occasion calls for one.
- It is also an ordinary English noun, and the joke about paying one arrives early and often.
- It reads as a short form even when it is the registered name, so people will ask what it stands for.
- It is strongly associated with one mid-century generation of American men.
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What they receive
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Bill
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Bills are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 200 people named Bill are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Bill in 2025?
- Bill is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Bill with classmates?
- Bill will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More B names
The most-given names starting with B, all years combined.
Barbara#968 · Betty#1113 · Brenda#1525 · Beverly#1016 · Brittany#928 · Bonnie#396 · Brianna#222 · Bertha#4546
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Bill? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Bill and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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