Meaning and history
Bill is a short form of William. This spelling was not commonly used before the 19th century, and the change in the initial consonant may have been influenced by an earlier Irish pronunciation of the name. Famous bearers include basketball player Bill Russell (1934–2022), comedian Bill Cosby (1937–), American president Bill Clinton (1946–), and Microsoft founder Bill Gates (1955–), all of whom were born with the name William.
20062006: 85 births, rank #1,669
2007: 85 births, rank #1,741
2008: 73 births, rank #1,948
2009: 58 births, rank #2,252
2010: 53 births, rank #2,375
20112011: 42 births, rank #2,798
2012: 41 births, rank #2,869
2013: 50 births, rank #2,461
2014: 47 births, rank #2,582
2015: 33 births, rank #3,365
20162016: 39 births, rank #2,993
2017: 42 births, rank #2,840
2018: 48 births, rank #2,617
2019: 28 births, rank #3,794
2020: 29 births, rank #3,653
20212021: 23 births, rank #4,362
2022: 26 births, rank #4,089
2023: 22 births, rank #4,610
2024: 22 births, rank #4,571
20252025: 18 births, rank #5,208
Bill rose from #900 to #886 for boys between 1992 and 1993. Its highest annual birth count came in 1947, with 4,681 births.