William

German

"resolute protection"

William Origin and Meaning

The name William is a boy's name of English origin meaning "resolute protection".

William is one of the most enduring of classic names for boys. It's also among the most popular boys' names, as American parents see it as being ideally conservative yet contemporary, and hands-down the most popular baby name beginning with W of all time.

For 400 years, William has been second only to John as the most popular name in the English-speaking world. And now of course, it's also a newsy name—thanks to Britain's high-profile Prince William.

William is derived from the Germanic name Wilhelm, composed of the elements wil, "will," and helm, referring to a helmet or protection. The name was introduced to England by William the Conqueror, with William being the Norman variation of the name. In Central and Southern France, it was translated as Guillaume.

In terms of short forms, yesterday's Bills and Billys have given way to today's Wills—or Williams, with no diminutive—though a few hip Billys, including Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Burton's, have surfaced recently.

But Irish spinoff Liam is the most stylish William nickname and has now superseded William, becoming the most popular boy name in America. Riding the William bandwagon is the Dutch Willem, which comes with the unique nickname Pim.

William has long reigned as a royal name in the U.K. There are tons of worthy namesakes called William, including William Shakespeare, Bill Gates and four U.S. presidents.

William Popularity

• 6 US 2022
• 61 Nameberry 2024
• 20 Future 2028
• 21 England 2021
• 40 Scotland 2022
• 67 Ireland 2023
• 4 Australia 2022
• 14 New Zealand 2023
• 93 France 2020
• 224 Germany 2016
• 62 Portugal 2018
• 1 Sweden 2022
• 11 Norway 2023
• 1 Denmark 2022
• 33 Belgium 2022
• 91 Switzerland 2022
• 3 Canada 2022
• 313 Mexico 2021