Bill Russell
There are approximately 57 people named Bill Russell living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 6,013,234 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Bill with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Russell. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and ancestry information.
Expected bearers
57
1 in 6,013,234
Named Bill
76K
Alive today
Named Russell
257K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 76K
Rarity: Uncommon
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1947
Average age: 70
Estimated bearers: 257K
Rarity: Common
Census rank: #104
Per 100K: 75.11
Top ancestry: White (77.0%)
First name trend
Bill: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Bill. The peak year was 1947 with 4,688 births. The average person named Bill today is 70 years old.
Babies born per year
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Russell surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Russell, from the 2010 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 77.0%.
- White77.0%
- Black or African American16.7%
- Hispanic or Latino2.5%
- Two or more races2.2%
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1%
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6%
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Bill has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0222% of the US population, based on 76,202 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
The surname Russell appears at a rate of 75.11 per 100,000 residents in the 2010 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0751%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 57 people with the full name Bill Russell. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Bill
Related
Other people with the surname Russell
FAQ
Bill Russell: questions and answers
How many people are named Bill Russell?
We estimate approximately 57 people in the United States share the full name Bill Russell. That works out to about 1 in 6,013,234 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0222%) with the surname frequency (75.11 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Bill Russell?
We classify Bill Russell as "Very Rare". About 1 in 6,013,234 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Bill a male or female name?
Bill is predominantly male. Out of 161,173 total SSA registrations, 99.6% were male and 0.4% were female. See the full Bill profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2010 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.