Billy
- Pronunciation
- [Bi-lly]
- Gender
- Male
- Meaning
- Nickname For William - Resolute Protector - Often Used As An Independent Name.
- Origin
- English
About the Name Billy
Billy is an English familiar form of William, from the Old High German wil ("will, desire") and helm ("helmet, protection"), meaning "resolute protector." Though it began as a nickname, Billy long operated as a fully independent given name — especially in American and British popular culture, where its direct, unadorned energy suited sportsmen, entertainers, and public figures who wanted a name that felt accessible rather than formal.
The name has an exceptionally rich roster of notable bearers. Billy Graham, born 1918, was an American Christian Baptist evangelist whose 70-year ministry produced one of the foundational platforms of 20th-century American Evangelical Christianity. Billy Joel, born 1949, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist whose career has spanned more than five decades — born William Martin Joel in the Bronx, he became one of the best-selling music artists in history. Billy Idol, born 1955, is an English rock musician whose career began with punk-rock band Generation X before a successful solo career defined MTV-era rock. Billy Connolly, born 1942, is a Scottish stand-up comedian, actor, musician, and TV presenter with a six-decade career. Billy Bob Thornton, born 1955, is an American actor, filmmaker, and musician from Arkansas. Billy West, born 1952, is an American voice actor born William Richard Werstine, widely recognised for a wide range of animated television roles.
Billy first entered the US Social Security top-1000 in 1922 and peaked at #19 in 1931. It last appeared in the top-1000 in 2020 at rank #999, a nearly century-long chart presence. The recorded variant is Billie, which has enjoyed independent success as a feminine given name in recent years.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration name data, 1880–2024 (methodology). By Marvin Tang.
Quick Facts About Billy
US Popularity History (1922–2020)
Annual US births named Billy by gender, from US Social Security Administration records. Peak year: 1934 with 9,562 boys named Billy (boy rank #20 that year).
Where it stands today: in 2020, ranked #999 for boys (212 US births). That's 979 places below its 1934 peak.
Source: US Social Security Administration. Limitations: US birth-certificate data only; names appearing fewer than 5 times in a given year are suppressed for privacy; spelling variants are counted separately. For names that ranked outside the US top 100 before year 2000, only the years they reached the top 100 are shown — the chart may have gaps for less-popular historical names.
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Where in the US Is Billy Most Popular?
Average boy-name rank within each state across 2016–2025 SSA records. A lower number means the name appears closer to the top of that state's boys-name rankings — a per-capita measure that isn't biased toward large states. For Billy the strongest states are Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma.
Strongest boys-name states
| # | State | Avg rank | Births |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mississippi | #384 | 48 |
| 2 | Arkansas | #396 | 52 |
| 3 | Oklahoma | #509 | 77 |
| 4 | Kentucky | #528 | 69 |
| 5 | Alabama | #562 | 54 |
| 6 | South Carolina | #652 | 17 |
| 7 | Louisiana | #655 | 21 |
| 8 | Georgia | #701 | 75 |
| 9 | North Carolina | #718 | 67 |
| 10 | Tennessee | #720 | 81 |
Weakest boys-name states
| # | State | Avg rank | Births |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | #944 | 149 |
| 2 | Michigan | #912 | 28 |
| 3 | Ohio | #890 | 38 |
| 4 | Florida | #879 | 104 |
| 5 | Texas | #802 | 282 |
| 6 | Indiana | #749 | 23 |
| 7 | Missouri | #727 | 56 |
| 8 | Tennessee | #720 | 81 |
| 9 | North Carolina | #718 | 67 |
| 10 | Georgia | #701 | 75 |
Source: SSA state-level baby-name dataset 2016–2025. States with fewer than 3 years of data for Billy in this window are excluded. Births < 5 in a given state-year are suppressed by SSA for privacy.
Variant Forms
| Name | Meaning | Gender | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billie | Nickname For William Resolute Protector - Often Used As An Independent Name. | Male | English |
Famous People Named Billy
9 notable figures from history and culture who share the name Billy.
- Billy Bob Thornton — Movie Actor (1955)
- Billy Connolly — Movie Actor (1942)
- Billy Graham — Religious Leader (1918)
- Billy Idol — Punk Singer (1955)
- Billy Joel — Rock Singer (1949)
- Billy Ray Cyrus — Country Singer (1961)
- Billy Sunday was a popular baseball player before he became an influential evangelist in America.
- Billy West — TV Actor (1952)
- Billy Wilder was one of the most conventional filmmakers and scriptwriters of Hollywood.
Looking for names like Billy?
A dedicated page with 60+ related names — spelling variants, rhymes, alliterations, same-origin matches, and shared meaning concepts — lives at its own URL so each kind of similarity gets a deeper treatment than fits here.
Compare Billy to Other Popular Names
Side-by-side popularity charts and crossover years for Billy against today's most popular boys-name peers (top 8 by US births in the last 10 years of SSA records).
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