Bill Family History

Bill Surname 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

559,000 record(s) for Bill

257K	Birth, Marriage, and Deaths
54K	Military Records
8K	Immigration Records
81K	Census and Voter Lists
158K	Member Trees

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.

What did your Bill ancestors do for a living?

In 1940, Laborer and Housewife were the top reported jobs for men and women in the USA named Bill. 19% of Bill men worked as a Laborer and 9% of Bill women worked as a Housewife. Some less common occupations for Americans named Bill were Truck driver and Housekeeper.

We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

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%

What Bill family records will you find?

Census Record

There are 81K 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.

Passenger List

There are 8K 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.

Military Records

There are 54K 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.

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.

An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Bill ancestors lived in harsh conditions. A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family. The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more.