Billy is a given name and a common nickname for

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

. Notable people with the name include: *

Billy the Kid Billy the Kid (born Henry McCarty; September 17 or November 23, 1859July 14, 1881), also known by the pseudonym William H. Bonney, was an outlaw and gunfighter of the American Old West, who killed eight men before he was shot and killed at t ...

(1859–1881), American Old West gunfighter born Henry McCarty, also known as William H. Bonney *

Billy Baldwin (decorator) William Baldwin, Jr. (1903 – 25 November 1983), known as Billy Baldwin and nicknamed Billy B, was a New York interior decorator, characterized in an obituary as the "dean of interior decorators".Albin Krebs, "Billy Baldwin is dead at 80; Dean ...

(1903–1983), American interior decorator * Billy Baldwin (baseball) (1951–2011), American Major League Baseball outfielder *

Billy Barnes (disambiguation) Billy Barnes may refer to: * Billy Barnes (composer) (1927–2012), American composer * Billy Barnes (cricketer) (1852–1899), English cricketer * Billy Barnes (footballer) (1879–1962), English footballer * Billy Ray Barnes Billy Ray Barnes ...

Billy Barty Billy Barty (born William John Bertanzetti, October 25, 1924 – December 23, 2000) was an American actor and activist. In adult life, he stood tall, due to cartilage–hair hypoplasia dwarfism. Because of his short stature, he was often cast ...

(1924–2000), American actor *

Billy Bevan Billy Bevan (born William Bevan Harris, 29 September 1887 – 26 November 1957) was an Australian-born vaudevillian, who became an American film actor. He appeared in more than 250 American films between 1916 and 1950. Career Bevan was bo ...

(1887–1957), Australian actor *

Billy Bland Billy Bland (April 5, 1932 – March 22, 2017) was an American R&B singer and songwriter. Life and career Bland, the youngest of 19 children, first sang professionally in 1947 in New York City, and sang with a group called The Bees in the 1950 ...

(1932–2017), American R&B singer and songwriter * Billy Boyd (disambiguation) *

Billy Blue William Blue (c. 1767 – 7 May 1834) was an Australian convict who, after completing his sentence, became a boatman providing one of the first services to take people across Sydney Harbour. He was also made a water bailiff and watched boat t ...

(c. 1767–1834), African-American convict transported to Australia * Billy Brewer (footballer) (died 1914), English professional footballer *

Billy Brown (disambiguation) Billy Brown may refer to: People *Billy Brown (footballer, born 1900) (1900–1985), English professional footballer * Billy Brown (footballer, born 1910) (1910–1993), footballer who played in the Football League * Billy Brown (footballer, bor ...

Billy Burke (disambiguation) Billy Burke or similar names may refer to: *Billie Burke (1884–1970), American stage and screen actress *Billy Burke (actor) (born 1966), American actor *Billy Burke (criminal) or William "Billy the Kid" Burke *1858–1919), American gangster *Bi ...

Billy Butler (singer) Billy Butler (born William E. Butler; June 7, 1945 – March 31, 2015) was an American soul singer and songwriter active in the 1960s and 1970s. He was born in Chicago, Illinois. His elder brother, Jerry, was also a singer and songwriter for wh ...

(1945–2015), American soul singer and songwriter *

Billy Connolly Sir William Connolly (born 24 November 1942) is a Scottish actor, retired comedian, artist, writer, musician, and presenter. He is sometimes known, especially in his homeland, by the Scots nickname the Big Yin ("the Big One"). Known for his ...

(born 1942), Scottish comedian *

Billy Corgan William Patrick Corgan Jr. (born March 17, 1967) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and professional wrestling promoter. He is best known as the lead singer, primary songwriter, guitarist, and only permanent member of the rock band the ...

(born 1967), American musician, frontman of Smashing Pumpkins *

Billy Crawford Billy Joe Ledesma Crawford (born May 16, 1982) is a Filipino actor, musician, singer, dancer, comedian and television host who released 7 studio albums and has had a number of singles, notably " Trackin'", " When You Think About Me" (a remake o ...

(born 1982), Filipino-American actor and television personality *

Billy Crook (English footballer) William Charles Crook (7 June 1926 – 29 May 2011) was an English footballer who spent the majority of his playing career at Wolverhampton Wanderers, with whom he won the 1949 FA Cup. Career Crook first joined Wolverhampton Wanderers in Augus ...

(1926–2011) *

Billy Crook (American soccer) Billy Crook (born April 3, 1964) is a former U.S. soccer defender who spent two seasons in the North American Soccer League, eight in Major Indoor Soccer League, two in the Western Soccer Alliance, at least two in the Continental Indoor Soccer ...

(born 1964) *

Billy Crystal William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. ...

(born 1948), American actor * Billy Davis (disambiguation) *

Billy De Wolfe William Andrew Jones (February 18, 1907 – March 5, 1974), better known as Billy De Wolfe, was an American character actor. He was active in films from the mid-1940s until his death in 1974. Early life and early stage career Born William Andr ...

(1907–1974), American actor *

Billy Eppler Billy Eppler (born September 16, 1975) is an American baseball executive who is the general manager of the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously served as the general manager of the Los Angeles Angels from 2015 to 2020. Befo ...

(born 1975), American baseball executive *

Billy Fox (politician) Billy Fox (3 January 1939 – 12 March 1974) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as a Senator for the Cultural and Educational Panel from 1973 to 1974 and a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Monaghan constituency from 1969 to 1973. He was sh ...

(1939–1974), Irish politician *

Billy Fox (boxer) William McKinley Fox (February 1, 1926 – January 1986), better known as "Blackjack" Billy Fox, was an American light heavyweight boxer who is best known for having won a controversial fight against future middleweight champion Jake LaMotta. ...

(1926–1986), American light-heavyweight boxer *

Billy Forbes (Scottish footballer) William Forbes was a Scottish professional footballer who played in the English Football League for Plymouth Argyle in the 1920s. He played as a right back. Forbes was born in Denny, which was then in Stirlingshire, and played for the local cl ...

(fl. 1911–1926) *

Billy Forbes (footballer, born 1990) Cadet Billy Forbes (born 13 December 1990) is a Turks and Caicos Islander professional footballer. He scored the game-winning goal in the 2014 Soccer Bowl. Club career Forbes spent his early career with Provopool Celtic and AFC Academy. In 2 ...

, Turks and Caicos Islands footballer *

Billy Gallagher (chef) Billy Gallagher, (17 August 1948 – 19 May 2016) was a chef and businessman in South Africa. After having worked at The Dorchester in London, Gallagher arrived in South Africa in 1973 to take up an executive sous-chef position with local hotel ...

(1948–2016), South African chef and businessman *

Billy Gibbons William Frederick Gibbons (born December 16, 1949) is an American musician who is the guitarist and lead singer of the rock band ZZ Top. He began his career in the band the Moving Sidewalks, which recorded a full-length album entitled, ''Flas ...

(born 1949), American musician *

Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christi ...

(1918–2018), American evangelist *

Billy Hahn Billy Hahn (born June 22, 1953) is an American former basketball coach who was most recently an assistant coach for the West Virginia Mountaineers under head coach Bob Huggins. During his head coaching and assistant coaching career, Hahn has coac ...

(born 1953), American basketball coach * Billy Howard, English comedian *

Billy Howard (gridiron football) Billy Howard Sr. (July 17, 1950 – February 13, 2005) was an American football defensive lineman who played three seasons with the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Lions in the second round of the 1974 ...

(born 1950), American football player *

Billy Howerdel Billy Howerdel (born May 18, 1970) is an American musician, best known as the founding member, guitarist, backing vocalist, songwriter, and producer for the band A Perfect Circle, as well as for his former solo project, Ashes Divide. Howerdel h ...

(born 1970), American musician, founding member of A Perfect Circle, frontman of ASHES dIVIDE * Billy Herrington (1969–2018), American actor *

Billy Idol William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is a British-American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer o ...

(born 1955), English rock musician *

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...

(born 1949), American musician * Billy Johnson (disambiguation) * Billy Jones (disambiguation) *

Billy Knight William R. Knight (born June 9, 1952) is an American former professional basketball player and executive. Playing with the Indiana Pacers in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and later the National Basketball Association (NBA), he w ...

(born 1952), American basketball player and executive * Billy Knight (basketball, born 1979) (1979–2018), American basketball player *

Billy Knight (tennis) William Arthur Knight (born 12 November 1935) is a former tennis player from Great Britain who competed on the amateur tour in the 1950s and 1960s. Tennis career Juniors Before focusing on tennis Knight also played table tennis and won the Eng ...

(born 1935), British tennis player *

Billy Martin Alfred Manuel Martin Jr. (May 16, 1928 – December 25, 1989), commonly called "Billy", was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager who, in addition to leading other teams, was five times the manager of the New York Yan ...

(1928–1989), American baseball player and manager * Billy Masters (columnist) (born 1969), American gossip columnist *

Billy Masters (American football) William Joel Masters (born March 15, 1944 in Grayson, Louisiana) is a former professional American football player. He played in the American Football League for the Buffalo Bills (1967–1969) and in the National Football League for the Denver B ...

(born 1944), former American Football League and National Football League player * Billy Rush Masters (1950–1981), American composer and rock guitarist *

Billy Mays William Darrell Mays Jr. (July 20, 1958 – June 28, 2009) was an American television direct-response advertisement salesperson. Throughout his career, he promoted a wide variety of products, including OxiClean, Orange Glo, Kaboom, ...

(1958–2009), American television salesperson * Billy Mays (footballer) (1902–1959), Welsh footballer *

Billy McShepard Billy McShepard (born August 10, 1987) is an American professional basketball player for Maccabi Ashdod B.C. of the Liga Leumit (basketball), Israeli National League. He played college basketball for Louisburg College and Valdosta State Blazers me ...

(born 1987), American basketball player in the Israeli National League * Billy Meier (born 1937), claims to be in regular contact with extraterrestrial beings * Billy Mitchell (gamer) (born 1965), American gamer and restaurateur * Billy Monahan (born 2008) * Billy Murray (disambiguation) *

Billy Name William George Linich (February 22, 1940 – July 18, 2016), known professionally as Billy Name, was an American photographer, filmmaker, and lighting designer. He was the archivist of The Factory from 1964 to 1970. His brief romance and subsequ ...

(1940–2016), American lighting designer * Billy Ouattara (born 1992), Ghanaian/French basketball player *

Billy Parker (disambiguation) Billy Parker may refer to: * Billy Parker (gridiron football) (born 1981), Arena Football League & Canadian Football League defensive specialist * Billy Parker (baseball) (1942–2003), professional baseball infielder * Billy Parker (singer) (born ...

Billy Parks William James Parks (January 1, 1948 – July 22, 2009) was an American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the San Diego Chargers, Dallas Cowboys, and Houston Oilers. He played college football at Long Beach State ...

(1948–2009), American football player *

Billy Payne William Porter Payne (born October 13, 1947) is the former chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, having served in that position from 2006 to 2017 and overseeing the introduction of the first women to the club's membership rolls. He was Managin ...

(born 1947), American golf administrator *

Billy Price (actor) William Price (born 22 April 2000) is an English actor, known for portraying the role of Sid Sumner in the Channel 4 soap opera, ''Hollyoaks''. Prior to joining ''Hollyoaks'', Price appeared in various theatre productions including ''Goodnight ...

(born 2000), English actor *

Billy Price (American football) William Price (born October 11, 1994) is an American football center for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State and was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the first round of the ...

(born 1995), American football player *

Billy Reid (fashion designer) Billy Reid (born June 13, 1964) is an American fashion designer based in Florence, Alabama. His line includes men's, women's, accessories and eyewear. His clothing, self-described as "lived-in luxury" and "broken-in luxury", is known for its class ...

Billy Joe Royal Billy Joe Royal (April 3, 1942 – October 6, 2015) was an American country soul singer. His most successful record was " Down in the Boondocks" in 1965. Life and career Born in Valdosta, Georgia, to Clarence and Mary Sue Smith Royal, and rai ...

(1942–2015), American singer *

Billy Sharp Billy Louis Sharp (born 5 February 1986) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker and captains club Sheffield United. He has also played for Rushden & Diamonds, Scunthorpe United, Southampton, Nottingham Forest, Reading, ...

(born 1986), English footballer *

Billy Sheehan William Sheehan (born March 19, 1953) is an American musician. He is best known for playing the bass guitar with acts such as Talas, Steve Vai, David Lee Roth, Mr. Big, Niacin, and The Winery Dogs. He is also known for his "lead bass" playing ...

(born 1953), American bass player *

Billy (slave) Billy (born ) was an enslaved man from Virginia who was charged with treason during the American Revolution. He was pardoned in 1781 after a letter was written arguing that, as a slave, he was not a citizen and thus could not commit treason agains ...

, an African-American slave accused of treason *

Billy Smart Jr. Billy Smart Jr. (born Stanley Smart, 15 October 1934 – 23 May 2005) was a British circus performer and impresario. Biography Smart, whose real name was Stanley, was the tenth child and third son of Billy Smart Sr. His father was a showman a ...

(1934–2005), British circus performer and impresario *

Billy Snedden Sir Billy Mackie Snedden, (31 December 1926 – 27 June 1987) was an Australian politician who served as the leader of the Liberal Party from 1972 to 1975. He was also a cabinet minister from 1964 to 1972, and Speaker of the House of Represe ...

(1926–1987), Australian politician *

Billy Tauzin Wilbert Joseph Tauzin II (; born June 14, 1943) is an American lobbyist and politician. He was President and CEO of PhRMA, a pharmaceutical company lobby group. Tauzin was also a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1980 to ...

(born 1943), American lobbyist and politician * Billy Taylor (disambiguation) *

Billy Unger William Brent Unger (born October 15, 1995) is an American actor. He is known for playing Chase on the Disney XD series ''Lab Rats'' and '' Lab Rats: Elite Force''. Credited as Billy Unger before 2016, starting with ''Lab Rats: Elite Force'', h ...

(born 1995), American actor *

Billy Wade (cricketer) Walter Wareham Wade (18 June 1914 – 31 May 2003), known as Billy Wade, was a South African cricketer who played in 11 Test matches between 1938 and 1950. He attended Hilton College along with his brother, Herby Herby (german: Herby) is a ...

(1914–2003), South African cricketer *

Billy Wade (racing driver) Billy Drew Wade (February 28, 1930January 5, 1965) was an American stock car racing driver. Career Billy was the 1963 NASCAR Rookie of the Year for car owner Cotton Owens. He finished the season with 14 Top 10 finishes in 31 races. He won four ...

(1930–1965), American race car driver *

Billy West William Richard Werstine (born April 16, 1952), known professionally as Billy West, is an American voice actor. His voice roles include Bugs Bunny in the 1996 film ''Space Jam'' and several subsequent projects, the title characters of '' Doug'' ...

(born 1952), American voice actor * Billy Walker (disambiguation) * Billy Williams (disambiguation) * Billy Wright (disambiguation) *

Billy Zane William George Zane Jr. (born February 24, 1966) is an American actor. His breakthrough role was in the 1989 Australian film ''Dead Calm'', a performance that earned him a nomination for the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promi ...

(born 1966), American actor * Reverend Billy, of

Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping is a radical performance community based in New York City. The Stop Shopping Choir is accompanied by a comic preacher, Reverend Billy, portrayed by performer William (Billy) Talen. The philosophy of ...

, New York City-based performance group

Fictional

* the title character of ''

Billy Elliot ''Billy Elliot'' is a 2000 British coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Daldry and written by Lee Hall. Set in County Durham in North East England during the 1984–1985 miners' strike, the film is about a working-class boy wh ...

'', a film about a boy aspiring to be a ballet dancer * Billy Coen, a character in ''Resident Evil Zero'' *

Billy Cranston Billy Cranston is a fictional character in the Power Rangers universe. He is the Blue Ranger in the series '' Mighty Morphin Power Rangers,'' and was portrayed by actor David Yost. Billy is the only original Power Ranger to remain for the entire ...

, the original Blue Ranger from the Power Rangers TV series * Billy Dilley, the title character of the animated TV series ''Billy Dilley's Super-Duper Subterranean Summer'' * Billy Grant, a character in 1993 action/martial arts movie ''

Showdown A showdown is a duel. The term may also refer to: Places * Showdown Ski Area, in Montana, United States Books * ''Showdown'' (Amado novel), a 1984 novel by Jorge Amado * ''Showdown'' (Dekker novel), a 2006 novel by Ted Dekker * ''Showdown'' (F ...

'' *

Billy Hargrove '' Stranger Things'' is an American science fiction horror television series created for Netflix by the Duffer Brothers, set in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, in the 1980s. The first season, set in November 1983, focuses on the inves ...

, a character on ''Stranger Things'' * Billy Hitchcock, a character from the ''

Final Destination ''Final Destination'' is an American horror franchise that includes five films, two comic books, and nine novels. It is based on an unproduced spec script by Jeffrey Reddick, originally written for ''The X-Files'' television series, and was d ...

'' * Billy Loomis, a character from the 1996 film ''

Scream Scream may refer to: *Screaming, a loud vocalization Amusement rides * Scream (Heide Park), a gyro drop tower in Soltau, Germany * Scream! (ride), a tower ride at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags New England * Scream! (roller coaster), at ...

'' *

Billy Kane is a player character, video game character created by SNK. He makes first appearance in the fighting game ''Fatal Fury: King of Fighters'' as the sub-boss from the game. In the ''Fatal Fury'' series Billy is the right-hand man from Geese Howard, ...

, a ''Fatal Fury'' character * Billy Kessler, a character in the comic book series ''G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' * Billy Francis Kopecki, a character in the 1988 American fantasy comedy-drama movie ''

Big Big or BIG may refer to: * Big, of great size or degree Film and television * ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks * ''Big!'', a Discovery Channel television show * ''Richard Hammond's Big'', a television show present ...

'' * Billy Lee Black, a character in ''Xenogears'' *

Billy Keikeya Billy Keikeya is a fictional character in the miniseries and television remake of '' Battlestar Galactica''. He is portrayed by Paul Campbell. Billy appeared until late in the second season, at which point he was killed by terrorists. Paul Campb ...

, aide to President Laura Roslin in the reimagined ''Battlestar Galactica'' TV series * Billy Masterson, a character in the 1997 English-language French science fiction action movie ''

The Fifth Element ''The Fifth Element'' is a 1997 English-language French science fiction action film conceived and directed by Luc Besson, as well as co-written by Besson and Robert Mark Kamen. It stars Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, Chris Tucker, and Milla Jov ...

'' * the title character of ''

Billy Budd ''Billy Budd, Sailor (An Inside Narrative)'' is a novella by American writer Herman Melville, left unfinished at his death in 1891. Acclaimed by critics as a masterpiece when a hastily transcribed version was finally published in 1924, it quick ...

'', a novella by Herman Melville * Billy Nolan, a major antagonist in Stephen King's ''

Carrie Carrie may refer to: People * Carrie (name), a female given name and occasionally a surname Places in the United States * Carrie, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Carrie, Virginia, an unincorporated community * Carrie Glacier, Olympic Nati ...

'' * Billy Peltzer, a character in the 1984 and 1990 American comedy horror film ''

Gremlins ''Gremlins'' is a 1984 American black comedy horror film directed by Joe Dante, written by Chris Columbus, and starring Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Polly Holliday, and Frances Lee McCain, with Howie Mandel providing the voice of ...

'' and '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' *

Billy Pilgrim ''Slaughterhouse-Five, or, The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death'' is a 1969 semi-autobiographic science fiction-infused anti-war novel by Kurt Vonnegut. It follows the life and experiences of Billy Pilgrim, from his early years, to ...

, protagonist in Kurt Vonnegut's ''Slaughterhouse Five'' * Billy Quinn, a character in the 1989 American-Canadian fantasy drama movie '' Prancer'' * Billy Tate, a character in TV series ''

Soap Soap is a salt of a fatty acid used in a variety of cleansing and lubricating products. In a domestic setting, soaps are surfactants usually used for washing, bathing, and other types of housekeeping. In industrial settings, soaps are use ...

'' * Billy Thunderman, from the tv series, ''

The Thundermans ''The Thundermans'' is an American comedy television series created by Jed Spingarn that aired on Nickelodeon from October 14, 2013 to May 25, 2018. The series stars Kira Kosarin, Jack Griffo, Addison Riecke, Diego Velazquez, Chris Tallman, Ros ...

'' * Billy Twofeathers, a Native American character on ''

Shining Time Station ''Shining Time Station'' is an American children's television series jointly created by British television producer Britt Allcroft and American television producer Rick Siggelkow. The series was produced by Quality Family Entertainment (the Ame ...

'' * Billy Whizz, a character in the UK comic ''The Beano'' * Billy Williams (''Coronation Street''), fictional character on the British soap opera ''Coronation Street'' * Billy (''Billy and Mandy''), a character on ''The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy'' * Billy, a character in ''Adventure Time'' * Billy, the title character of ''

Sport Billy ''Sport Billy'' is a 1980 animated television cartoon made by Filmation Associates, initially for broadcast in Germany. The series was a single 26 episode saga that premiered in Germany and other parts of Europe from 1980 to 1981. In 1982, Filma ...

'', a TV cartoon show

Fictional

See also