Bilal
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- bi-LAHL
- Origin
- Arabic
- UK rank, 2025
- #447 for boys
- US rank, 2025
- #1,212 for boys
Bilal is a boys' name of Arabic origin, meaning “moisture, freshness”. In 2025 it ranked 447th for boys in the UK (99 babies) and 1,212th for boys in the US (167 babies).
What does Bilal mean?
Arabic
“moisture, freshness”
Bilal ibn Rabah, a freed slave and early companion of the Prophet, was Islam's first muezzin.
More on Wiktionary.
Is Bilal a girl's or a boy's name?
Bilal is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 99 boys in the UK and 167 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Bilal in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #447among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 99about 1 in 3,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steadydown 17% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 99 boys in the UK were named Bilal, making it the 447th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 435th. Its busiest year was 2006, with 195 boys.
Half of all the boys named Bilal in the UK since 1996 were born between 2002 and 2016. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier boys aren't counted.
In 2025, 105 boys in the UK were given Bilal or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #430, up from #447 for this spelling alone.
- Bilal 99
- Bilaal 6
Among boys in 2025, it was 408th in England and Wales.
Bilal in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 99 | #447 |
| 2024 | 101 | #443 |
| 2023 | 93 | #470 |
| 2022 | 88 | #501 |
| 2021 | 84 | #528 |
| 2020 | 103 | #435 |
| 2019 | 123 | #397 |
| 2018 | 126 | #386 |
| 2017 | 129 | #394 |
| 2016 | 160 | #338 |
| 2015 | 143 | #363 |
| 2014 | 128 | #372 |
| 2013 | 136 | #350 |
| 2012 | 160 | #321 |
| 2011 | 151 | #327 |
| 2010 | 159 | #311 |
| 2009 | 164 | #298 |
| 2008 | 189 | #260 |
| 2007 | 176 | #258 |
| 2006 | 195 | #229 |
| 2005 | 161 | #244 |
| 2004 | 182 | #223 |
| 2003 | 162 | #230 |
| 2002 | 168 | #215 |
| 2001 | 157 | #221 |
| 2000 | 157 | #222 |
| 1999 | 167 | #208 |
| 1998 | 173 | #209 |
| 1997 | 140 | #248 |
| 1996 | 148 | #232 |
How popular is Bilal in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #1,212among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 167about 1 in 10,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steadyup 7% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 167 boys in the US were named Bilal, making it the 1,212th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,288th. Its busiest year was 2018, with 195 boys. It first appears in the records in 1964.
Half of all the boys named Bilal in the US since 1880 were born between 1996 and 2017, the years shaded on the chart below.
Bilal in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 167 | #1,212 |
| 2024 | 175 | #1,181 |
| 2023 | 180 | #1,156 |
| 2022 | 166 | #1,200 |
| 2021 | 152 | #1,253 |
| 2020 | 141 | #1,288 |
| 2019 | 152 | #1,239 |
| 2018 | 195 | #1,040 |
| 2017 | 168 | #1,132 |
| 2016 | 167 | #1,149 |
| 2015 | 151 | #1,216 |
| 2014 | 149 | #1,225 |
| 2013 | 138 | #1,261 |
| 2012 | 155 | #1,172 |
| 2011 | 166 | #1,108 |
| 2010 | 139 | #1,256 |
| 2009 | 147 | #1,218 |
| 2008 | 139 | #1,251 |
| 2007 | 135 | #1,287 |
| 2006 | 124 | #1,322 |
| 2005 | 142 | #1,138 |
| 2004 | 149 | #1,070 |
| 2003 | 146 | #1,059 |
| 2002 | 168 | #953 |
| 2001 | 136 | #1,058 |
| 2000 | 133 | #1,068 |
| 1999 | 116 | #1,128 |
| 1998 | 104 | #1,186 |
| 1997 | 127 | #1,004 |
| 1996 | 95 | #1,193 |
| 1995 | 103 | #1,122 |
| 1994 | 99 | #1,136 |
| 1993 | 97 | #1,140 |
| 1992 | 107 | #1,055 |
| 1991 | 119 | #975 |
| 1990 | 104 | #1,033 |
| 1989 | 100 | #1,026 |
| 1988 | 52 | #1,462 |
| 1987 | 57 | #1,293 |
| 1986 | 52 | #1,362 |
| 1985 | 40 | #1,593 |
| 1984 | 45 | #1,421 |
| 1983 | 41 | #1,489 |
| 1982 | 56 | #1,241 |
| 1981 | 47 | #1,373 |
| 1980 | 63 | #1,145 |
| 1979 | 51 | #1,291 |
| 1978 | 44 | #1,393 |
| 1977 | 46 | #1,335 |
| 1976 | 34 | #1,571 |
| 1975 | 25 | #1,883 |
| 1974 | 15 | #2,547 |
| 1973 | 8 | #3,692 |
| 1972 | 7 | #3,960 |
| 1971 | 0 | – |
| 1970 | 6 | #4,228 |
| 1969 | 5 | #4,403 |
| 1968 | 0 | – |
| 1967 | 0 | – |
| 1966 | 6 | #3,535 |
| 1965 | 0 | – |
| 1964 | 7 | #3,281 |
Names like Bilal
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Hamza Ahmed Muhammad Abdullah Hassan Umar Mustafa Khalid Musa Amir Raheem Zayd
Other spellings of Bilal
Names related to Bilal
More Arabic names
Layla Mohammed Lyla Mohammad Zara Aaliyah Amira Fatima Ali Yahya Zayn Aisha Omar Zahra Kairo Safa
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Bilal: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/bilal, updated 20 October 2026.