ninan.org

Billy

Boys' name · Mid-century perennial

Living in the US
~204,700 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#1,068 among boys
Births in 2025
217 389,665 since 1880
Typical age
63 years, median

Billy popularity over time

Billy rank by birth year, 1880–2025Billy ranked #745 in 1880 and #1,068 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #19, in 1931.#100#1,000#1,068best #19 in 193118901920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1880–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

The high point was 1934: 9,659 births recorded as Billy. It is present from 1880, the first year of the record. Across the record, 59 years put Billy in the top 100.

In 2025 it ranked #1,068 with 217 births. Compared with 2015, births are down 23%. Year on year the rank dropped by 18.

Babies named Billy per yearPeaks at 9,659 births in 1934.9,659 in 1934018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Billy?

About 204,700 people named Billy are alive in the United States today. That is out of 389,665 recorded births since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Billy?

Median age among living Billys: 63. More of them were born in the 1950s than in any other decade. By the site’s era rules that makes Billy a mid-century perennial name.

Your Billy

Ages of living people named BillyHalf of living Billys are older than 63 and half younger.median 63020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Billy is most common

The name is concentrated in Oklahoma, at 3.6× the national rate. Arkansas, Mississippi and Kentucky follow.

Where Billy is used more than average5 states use the name Billy more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: not over-representedPANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: not over-representedCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: 2.9× the national rateKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: 3.2× the national rateARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: not over-representedDCOklahoma: 3.6× the national rateOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: 3.1× the national rateMSAlabama: 2.1× the national rateALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Billy is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Oklahoma 83 3.6×
Arkansas 52 3.2×
Mississippi 48 3.1×
Kentucky 75 2.9×
Alabama 60 2.1×

Billy in England and Wales

ONS recorded 481 births named Billy in 2025, ranking it #110.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Billy comes from

Diminutive and pet-form; from Bill + -y.

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Billy

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Billy Wilder Austrian and American filmmaker 1906–2002 80
Billy Connolly Scottish actor and comedian 1942 66
Billy Crystal American actor, comedian, writer, producer, director and television presenter 1948 62
Billy Zane American actor 1966 58
Billy Boyd Scottish actor and musician 1968 45
Billy Celeski Australian association football player 1985 44
Billy Mays European-American salesperson 1958–2009 38
Billy Bremner Scottish association football player and manager 1942–1997 37
Photo credits (7)

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Names similar to Billy

Matched by sound and spelling inside this dataset, then ordered by total recorded births. This is not a claim about shared etymology.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/billy.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).