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Bill Family History

Bill Name Meaning

English: from the Middle English personal name Bille or Bile either a pet form of the female names Amabil and Sybil or a survival of Old English Bil or Old Norse Bildr. English: nickname from Middle English (Old English) bile ‘bill beak (of a bird)’ perhaps used contemptuously of a person's nose or mouth. It may also be an occupational name from Middle English (Old English) bil(l) ‘bill(hook) pruning hook halberd’ given perhaps to a user or maker of pruning hooks and similar implements. See Biller 5. English: topographic name for someone who lived on or by a promontory or headland from Middle English bile bille ‘beak’ (from Old English bile). German: from an ancient Germanic personal name either a short form of compound names such as Billard . Native American (e.g. Navajo): adoption of the English personal name Bill (altered short form of William ) as a surname.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022

Similar surnames: Ball, Hill, Bell, Gill, Will, Dill, Brill, Mill, Zill, Pill

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Where is the Bill family from?

You can see how Bill families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Bill family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Bill families were found in USA in 1920. In 1840 there were 33 Bill families living in New York. This was about 23% of all the recorded Bill's in USA. New York had the highest population of Bill families in 1840.

Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Bill surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

View Census Data for Bill

What did your Bill ancestors do for a living?

View Census Data for Bill | Data not to scale

Top Male Occupations In 1940

Laborer
19%
Farmer
16%
Salesman
6%
Truck Driver
4%

Top Female Occupations In 1940

Housewife
9%
Maid
8%
Cook
7%
Housekeeper
7%

Black & white image of two construction labourers

What Bill family records will you find?

Census Records
There are 81,000 census records available for the last name Bill. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Bill census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.
Search US census records for Bill
Passenger Lists
There are 8,000 immigration records available for the last name Bill. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the USA, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.
View all Bill immigration records
Draft Cards
There are 54,000 military records available for the last name Bill. For the veterans among your Bill ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.
View all Bill military records

Census Records

There are 81,000 census records available for the last name Bill. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Bill census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search US census records for Bill

Passenger Lists

There are 8,000 immigration records available for the last name Bill. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the USA, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Bill immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 54,000 military records available for the last name Bill. For the veterans among your Bill ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Bill military records

You've only scratched the surface of Bill family history

Discover More

What is the average Bill lifespan?

Between 1943 and 2004, in the United States, Bill life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1943, and highest in 1998. The average life expectancy for Bill in 1943 was 39, and 71 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Bill

Browse profiles of historical people with the Bill last name