as a First Name
Altered short form of William, not used before the 19th century. The reason for the change in the initial consonant is not clear, but it conforms to the pattern regularly found when English words beginning with w- are borrowed into Gaelic. The nickname ‘King Billy’ for William of Orange is an early example from Ireland, which may have influenced English usage. It is bestowed occasionally as a name in its own right.
| 293rd in the U.S. for 2011 |
Nicknames & variations
Quick facts
- Hundreds of thousands
- of people in the U.S have this name
- 208,003
- to be exact (as of February 2011)
- Oklahoma
- has the most people named Bill per capita
- 1934
- marked the height of its popularity
0.00%
100.00%
63%
55+
55+
35%
30-54
30-54
0.92%
13-29
13-29
0.65%
0-12
0-12
Top state populations
U.S. Distribution Map
