Boys' name · peaked in 1934
Bill name popularity since 1925
143,001 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Bill. Half of them were born in 1946 or earlier, so the typical Bill is about 80 years old in 2026. Bill peaked in 1934 as the #59 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 143,001
- Named Bill, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1934
- #59 for boys that year
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #5,235 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.6% boys
- 506 girls · 142,495 boys
- Most popular in
- Oklahoma
- 3.50× its national share
Peak year is the year Bill made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Bill births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 1947. Measured as a share of all babies, Bill peaked in 1934.
- Steepest fall: Between 1947 and 1952, Bill's share of baby boys fell by 68%, from 1 in 391 to 1 in 1,220.
- Fastest rise: Between 1954 and 1959, it became 2.9× more common, from 1 in 1,340 baby boys to 1 in 464.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Bill's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Bill.
Decade by decade
Babies named Bill in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 119 | 13,810 | – |
| 1930s | 187 | 32,338 | #60 |
| 1940s | 92 | 37,756 | #66 |
| 1950s | 32 | 23,877 | #171 |
| 1960s | 52 | 25,132 | #151 |
| 1970s | 19 | 5,206 | #385 |
| 1980s | 5 | 1,815 | #665 |
| 1990s | 0 | 1,153 | #1,137 |
| 2000s | 0 | 845 | #1,596 |
| 2010s | 0 | 423 | #3,377 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 140 | #5,235 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
42.4% of babies named Bill from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Silent Generation years (1928–1945). The full split by generation:
Where Bill is most popular
The index compares Bill's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Bill.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma | 3.50× | 6,442 |
| Wyoming | 3.14× | 599 |
| Montana | 2.99× | 1,233 |
| Kansas | 2.51× | 3,615 |
| Nebraska | 2.37× | 2,344 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Bill's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Bill.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Bill (1934).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data