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Bilal

#1,212 in 2025Boys' name

Wetting, moistening

Bilal has been given to 5,863 babies in the U.S. since 1964. In 2025 it ranked #1,212 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2018, with 195 recorded.

Babies named Bilal, 2025

1 in 19,900

Bilal over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
05010015020018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Bilal: meaning, origin, and history

Wetting, moistening

Arabic

What Bilal means

Bilal means “wetting, moistening”.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

From Arabic بِلَال (bilāl), specially Bilāl ibn Rabāḥ.

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Bilal (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Bilal is used in English, Albanian and Azerbaijani. Its origins include Arabic.

Bilal comes through Arabic بِلَال.

Pronunciation and spelling

In Azerbaijani, Bilal is pronounced [biˈɫɑɫ].

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 5,858 boys were recorded with the name Bilal between 1964 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 195 in 2018; its best national rank was #953 in 2002.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #1,288 in 2020 to #1,212 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #1,217 in 2015 to #1,212 in 2025.

In the United States, 5 girls were recorded with the name Bilal between 2004 and 2004. Its highest annual count was 5 in 2004; its best national rank was #16,484 in 2004.

How common is Bilal?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 19,900
167 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 10,200
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#1,212
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
13,761 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Bilal sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 5002%

Put another way: gather 13,761 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Bilal. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Bilals were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Bilal was born before 2007 — so the typical Bilal is around 18 today.

Median birth year
2007
About 18 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
27.0% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
65.7%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
5,858
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 27.0% of all recorded uses (1,580).

Is Bilal rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−30
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
+76
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
+5
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
1.11×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
85.6%
Peak was 2018 (195)
Years since peak
7
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Steady
8.6% average annual change
Best rank ever
#953
2002

Spellings of Bilal

Bilal is not the most common spelling — Billy is, with 53.5% against Bilal's 0.82%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Bilal is used

Across 2016–2025, Bilal was most concentrated in Minnesota — about 1 in 1,786 boys, against 1 in 9,699 across all states with data. It was least common in Arizona (1 in 100,000).

156 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Minnesota1 in 1,786
  2. 2Virginia1 in 5,000
  3. 3New York1 in 5,263
  4. 4Illinois1 in 5,556
  5. 5Washington1 in 5,556
  6. 6Michigan1 in 5,882
  7. 7Ohio1 in 7,143
  8. 8Maryland1 in 8,333

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Bilal around the world

Where Bilal ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1996–2025
    #408
    in 2025
  • Scotland
    1984–2024
    #619
    in 2024
  • Ireland
    1990–2025
    #829
    in 2025
  • France
    1972–2025
    #234
    in 2025
  • Norway
    1880–2025
    #417
    in 2025
  • Canada
    1991–2024
    #486
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1987–2013
    #389
    in 2013

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Central Statistics Office, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Norway, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS, NRS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. CSO, SSB, CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence.

Notable people named Bilal

People whose public names include Bilal, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Bilal by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#1,212
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 76
Best rank ever
#953
2002
Peak year
2018
195 that year
First recorded
1964
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
5,858
Count in 2025
167

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#16,484
2004
Peak year
2004
5 that year
First recorded
2004
Last recorded
2004
All-time count
5
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Bilal

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

BillalBillieJalalTalalBelalBillBillyBilolBilleyBilboBillionHilalBilaalBillyeBillyjoeBilleBillyjoBilliBalalBillyrayBilyBillyjackHelalBilguun

Names with a curve like Bilal

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Bilal, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

SamiMenachemSyedHasanMikaelAmarTajShlomoYaakovMikhailKhalidTorin

Sibling names for Bilal

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Bilal

Top names of 2018, Bilal's peak yearThe 2010s in fullOther names that peaked in 2002Boys' names starting with BArabic Boy NamesMuslim Boy Names