Billy

Did you know?

A few things about Billy you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Billy

Billy Wilder

Austrian and American filmmaker (1906–2002)

Choose Billy and your child shares a first name with Billy Wilder, an Austrian and American filmmaker. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Billy, like who?” Billy Wilder's Wikipedia article is available in 80 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Billy Wilder on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Foto: Galerie Poll Berlin / Ausschnitt: Christoph Waghubinger (Lewenstein), CC BY-SA 3.0 de (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 8,418 baby boys born in the US in 2025 was named Billy, 203 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Billy would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryBilly has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Billys, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1935, when it ranked #19. Today it's #1,068, so it could be due a comeback.
• 📉Then vs nowBilly was 2.9× more common in 2000 than it is today. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 2,932 baby boys; in 2025, about 1 in 8,418.
• 🍂TrendBilly has slipped 69 places over the last five years and now sits at #1,068. Good news if you want a familiar name that fewer kids will share.
• 📍Where it's lovedBilly is most popular in Mississippi, where it ranks #370, followed by Kansas (#524) and Oklahoma (#552). It's in the top 1,000 in 13 states.
• 💬MeaningBilly is an English form of William, which means “resolute protector”. Our records link it to English, French and German roots.

About the name Billy

Billy is a boy name of English, French and German origin meaning “resolute protector”. It has 5 letters and 2 syllables, starting with B and ending in “-lly”. US birth records list Billy for boys from 1880 to 2025, in 145 of those 146 years. Its best year was 1935, when it ranked #19 among boy names. In 2025 it ranked #1,068, with 203 babies.

Origin:English namesFrench namesGerman names