Bill
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Meaning
short form of William ("will helmet"); the B spelling arrived in the 19th century
Famously borne by Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft.
The formal names behind Bill
Bill is an established short form of this name.
William · Germanic origin · "will" and "helmet," two old words fused into one name; carried to England by the Conqueror in 1066 and near the top of English boys' names for most of the thousand years since. Will, Liam, and Billy all live inside it
Bill across languages
One shared root links 12 names across 3 languages.
Shared root: from Germanic Willahelm, wil "will, desire" + helm "helmet, protection"
The constellation
9 more branches of this family
Bill in song
Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home
Arthur Collins (1902)
Hughie Cannon's 1902 Tin Pan Alley smash, a woman calling her man back after she put him out. Arthur Collins had the hit record, and it has been a Dixieland and singalong staple for well over a century.
How popular is Bill around the world?
In the United States, 140 babies were named Bill between 2020 and 2025. In Ireland, 4 boys named Bill were born in 2025, the 676th most common name among boys that year.
Bill is on the official records of the United States, Ireland, England and Wales, Canada, Brazil and Spain.
United States
1 in 160,000
In the United States, 140 babies were named Bill between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Bill peaked in the 1920s and the 1960s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Ireland
1 in 14,000
In Ireland, 4 boys named Bill were born in 2025, the 676th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
England and Wales
1 in 65,000
In England and Wales, 9 boys named Bill were born in 2025, ranked 2,440th among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Canada
1 in 73,000
In Canada, 5 boys named Bill were born in 2024, ranked 3,231st among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Brazil
1 in 500,000
At the 2022 census, 318 people in Brazil were named Bill, ranked 18,259th, with a median age of 33.
Among people named Bill living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Spain
1 in 1.7M
In Spain, 26 residents are named Bill, ranked 24,431st among men, with a mean age of 44.8 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Argentina
last on record 2023
Bill is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Austria
last on record 2024
Bill is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Montevideo City
last on record 1980
Bill is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
South Australia
last on record 2015
Bill is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Not on the record in Mexico City, Puerto Rico, New Zealand, Scotland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Bill
Most people given the name Bill in the United States were born between 1940 and 1969. The Bill you meet today is most often in his 60s or 70s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Bill deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Bill truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Bill fits with your family’s names and surname.
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