Billy
About Billy
Cute kid with freckles, bouncing a Spalding ball. Cool couple Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Burton put the name Billy Burton on their son's birth certificate. While the classic William, name of the future king of England, may in fact be German, the nickname Billy along with such other classic short forms as Jim and Joe are authentically English names for boys.
Pronounced BIL-ee.
As of October 2026, Billy ranked #1068 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #19 in 1935, Nameberry popularity #765.
Editor: Sophie Kihm
Sources: US popularity data is from the Social Security Administration. Meanings and origins are from Nameberry's name references.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #797 | 288 | 149.9 |
| 2015 | #810 | 282 | 147.1 |
| 2016 | #863 | 261 | 137.5 |
| 2017 | #830 | 268 | 144.8 |
| 2018 | #846 | 262 | 144.3 |
| 2019 | #891 | 245 | 136.5 |
| 2020 | #999 | 212 | 122.8 |
| 2021 | #1,037 | 208 | 118.9 |
| 2022 | #1,015 | 219 | 125.4 |
| 2023 | #1,095 | 195 | 114 |
| 2024 | #1,047 | 210 | 121.9 |
| 2025 | #1,068 | 203 | 118.8 |
World rankings
Similar names
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Billy on lists
Famous Billys
- William Martin "Billy" Joel
American singer,songwriter
- William Franklin "Billy" Graham Jr.
American evangelist
- Billy Idol (born William Michael Albert Broad)
English punk singer
- Billy the Kid (born William Henry Bonney)
American outlaw
- Samuel "Billy" Wilder
Austrian,American film director
- William "Billy" Ray Cyrus
American musician/actor
- Stephen William "Billy" Bragg
English singer,songwriter
- Billy Bob Thornton
American actor
- Billy Boyd
Scottish actor
- Billy Warlock (born William Alan Leming)
American actor
- William Richard "Billy" West
American voice actor
- William "Billy" Connolly
Scottish comedian/actor
- William Everett "Billy" Preston
American R&B musician
- William Albert "Billy" Burke
American actor
- William Edward "Billy" Crystal
American actor/comedian
- Billy Ray Burton
son of actress Helena Bonham Carter and director Tim Burton
- William "Billy" Baldwin
American actor, producer, writer
- William "Billy" Corgan Jr.
American rock singer (The Smashing Pumpkins) and producer
- Billy Stamos
son of American actor John Stamos
- Billy Mays
Late Pitchman
Billy in pop culture
- Billy Hargrove
character in Stranger Things
- Billy Pilgrim
main character in Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse,Five"
- "Billy Elliot
" musical, film and main character
- Billy Nutter
character on TV's "Jane by Design"
- Billy
main character on animated series "Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy"
- Billy Cranston
Blue Ranger from the Power Rangers series
- "Billy Madison
" movie and main character
- Billy Bickle
character in movie "Seven Psychopaths"
- Dr Billy Peale
character on TV's "American Gothic"
- Billy Bannister
main character of the "Dragons in Our Midst" series by Bryan Davis
- Billy Thunderman
character in Nickelodian's "The Thundermans"
- Billy Rosewood
character in movie "Beverly Hills Cop"
- Billy Caufield
character in movie "The Dream Team"
- Billy Flynn
character in the film "Chicago"
- Billy
character in the film "Big"
- Billy Black
character in the Twilight saga
- Billy
later Billystorm, character in Erin Hunter's "Warriors" book series
- Invisi Billy
son of the Invisible Man in "Monster High" show and series
- William "Billy" McMahon
main character in film "The Internship"
- Billy Acachalla
A character from the YouTube channel VenturianTale
- Billy Forrester
character in the 1973 Children's book "How to Eat Fried Worms" by Thomas Rockwell & also
- William "Billy" Melrose
character on 1980's TV show "Scarecrow & Mrs. King"
- Billy “Snake” Nikssilp
character in the Rooster Teeth animated series "Camp Camp"
- William "Billy" Dunne
Character in "Daisy Jones & The Six
- Billy Loomis
One of the killers from “Scream”