Billey
A diminutive form of the masculine name William, meaning "resolute protector".
Name Census estimates that about 199 living Americans carry the first name Billey. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Billey today is around 74 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Billey births was 1931 (24 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Billey. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Billey is about 74 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Billeys were born before 1962.
People living today
199
~ 1 in 1,722,384 Americans
Peak year
1931
24 babies that year
Average age
74
years old
1980 SSA rank
#6,350
Tracked since 1920
Popularity
Billey: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Billey from the 1920s through to the 1980s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 175 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1930s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Billey by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Billey during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Billeys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Texas, Alabama, Arkansas recorded the most babies named Billey, while Tennessee, Oklahoma, Arkansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 6 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Billey
The name Billey is believed to have originated from the Old English language, with its roots traced back to the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain, around the 5th to 11th centuries AD. The name is thought to be derived from the Old English words "byl" meaning "hill" or "mound" and "ey" meaning "island" or "meadow".
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Billey can be found in the Domesday Book, a manuscript record of the Great Survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears in various spellings, such as "Billeie" and "Billeye", referring to settlements or landholdings.
In the 12th century, a notable figure named Billey de Albini was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls, which were administrative records of the English Exchequer. De Albini was a Norman nobleman and landowner who held estates in several counties.
During the 13th century, a Benedictine monk named Billey of Evesham gained recognition for his scholarly works on theology and philosophy. He was born in the town of Evesham in Worcestershire, England, around 1220.
In the 14th century, a wealthy merchant named Billey Whittington rose to prominence in the City of London. He served as the Lord Mayor of London in 1397 and was known for his philanthropic efforts, including funding the construction of a college and a library.
Another noteworthy individual was Sir Billey Cavendish, an English courtier and diplomat who lived during the 16th century. He served under King Henry VIII and was involved in various diplomatic missions to France and the Holy Roman Empire.
People
Billey + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Billey as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Billey: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Billey?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 199 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Billey going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,722,384 US residents.
Is Billey a common name?
We classify Billey as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 523 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Billey most popular?
The single biggest year for Billey was 1931, when 24 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Billey is about 74 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Billey a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Billey in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.