Billie
Masculine · “will-helmet”
Billie is given to both — 31,637 boys and 103,663 girls since 1880. See Billie as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Billie is Bill with the ending that American paperwork favored for two generations. It is the same rhyming pet form of William that produced Bill, given the -ie that Willie, Eddie, Jimmie and Freddie all wore at the same time.
How old is the name Billie?
Billie was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Billie alive today was born around 1931, making them about 94 years old. About 8,900 people named Billie are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Billie most popular?
Billie peaked in 1929, reaching #122 nationally. Today it ranks #6446, 6,324 places below that high. See the whole 1929 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Willahelm to Billie
The story of Billie
William was the commonest man's name in England for centuries, and English wore it down to Will and then, by rhyming substitution, to Bill — the same trick that made Bob from Rob. The affectionate stretch Billy or Billie followed. The -ie spelling was the American preference in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, and Billie for boys peaked around 1929 before the -y spelling took over and the -ie one moved decisively to girls.
Meaning
will-helmet, resolute protector
Through William, from the Germanic wil, 'will' or 'desire', and helm, 'helmet' or 'protection'. Germanic naming built compounds from two ordinary words without requiring the pair to make literal sense; this one reads as something like 'protected by will'.
How the name formed
- Willahelm
- William
- Bill
- Billie
Related forms: Wilhelm · Guillermo · Billy
Pronouncing Billie
BIL-ee
Two syllables, stress on the first. Billie and Billy are said identically.
Nicknames for Billie
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
- 19311,343 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #122reached in 1929
- Change vs 2022
- +85.7%13 in 2025, from 7
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.
Billie in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Wilhelm in German — related form
- Guillermo in Spanish — related form
- Billy in English — spelling variant
Billies among us
people named Billie are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 131,390 born in 2025 was named Billie
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 Wilson test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Billie's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Wilson climbed just as high around 1913, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Wilson's path sketches the road Billie is walking now.
Billie 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
Billie beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Billie in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- William stands behind it as one of the most-used men's names in the language's history.
- Warm and friendly at every age, with Bill available whenever something plainer is wanted.
- Cousins exist in every European language.
- The -ie spelling now reads as feminine to most English speakers.
- As a diminutive on the certificate it carries an informal register into adult life.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Billie to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Billie? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Billie
Masculine · #6446 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Billies are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 8,900 people named Billie are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Billie in 2025?
- Billie ranks #6446 among US boy names in 2025, with 13 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Billie?
- About 1 in every 131,390 US boys born in 2025 was named Billie — 13 in all.
- Will my child share the name Billie with classmates?
- Billie will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Billie
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Rollie#6446 · Worth#6446 · Blas#6446 · Starling#6446 · Alvis#6446 · Elwyn#6446 · Sal#6446 · Rollin#6446
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Billie? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Billie 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
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle