Bill
Masculine · “will and helmet”
Bill is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 160,474 boys against 716 girls since 1880. See Bill as a girl 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 was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Bill alive today was born around 1945, making them about 80 years old. About 71,500 people named Bill are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Bill most popular?
Bill peaked in 1931, reaching #57 nationally. Today it ranks #5208, 5,151 places below that high. See the whole 1931 chart.
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
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 19604,501 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #57reached in 1931
- Change vs 2022
- −30.8%18 in 2025, from 26
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
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Florida.
Bills among us
people named Bill are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 94,893 born in 2025 was named Bill
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Clifford test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Bill's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Clifford climbed just as high around 1909, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Clifford's path sketches the road Bill is walking now.
Bill sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Bill beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Bill in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
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.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Bill to the vote.
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What they receive
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Bill
Masculine · #5208 in the U.S.
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 71,500 people named Bill are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Bill in 2025?
- Bill ranks #5208 among US boy names in 2025, with 18 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Bill?
- About 1 in every 94,893 US boys born in 2025 was named Bill — 18 in all.
- Will my child share the name Bill with classmates?
- Bill will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Bill
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Rodger#5208 · Eusebio#5208 · Boy#5208 · Randal#5208 · Gable#5208 · Jessy#5208 · Kelby#5208 · Jens#5208
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Bill? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Bill and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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