International Variations of William

Liam

• Origin:

  Irish short form of William

• Meaning:

  "resolute protection"

• Description:

  Liam originated as a nickname for Uilliam, the Irish variation of William. William is an English name from Germanic roots that was brought to Ireland when the British fled England following the Norman Conquest. The Irish began using English names, including William, which led to the development of Uilliam and its short form, Liam.

Wolf

• Origin:

  Animal name or diminutive of Wolfgang

• Meaning:

  "traveling wolf"

• Description:

  Wolf is a name with a split personality. It can be seen as one of the fierce animal names, like Fox and Bear and Puma, with a touch of the werewolf, or it can be viewed as a quieter, Wolf Blitzer kind of name, fairly common in German (where is pronounced Vulf) and Jewish families, sometimes as a short form of Wolfgang.

Willem

• Origin:

  Dutch variation of William

• Meaning:

  "resolute protector"

• Description:

  Common in Holland, the appealing Willem (as in de Kooning and Dafoe) makes William fresh and distinctive.

Willem

• Origin:

  Dutch variation of William

• Meaning:

  "resolute protector"

• Description:

  Common in Holland, the appealing Willem (as in de Kooning and Dafoe) makes William fresh and distinctive.

Vasili

• Origin:

  Greek

• Meaning:

  "royal, kingly"

• Description:

  Exotic form of Basil that might suit the adventurous.

Wilhelm

• Origin:

  German variation of William

• Meaning:

  "resolute protection"

• Description:

  This dignified German form of William belonged to two German Emperors and Kings of Prussia, as well as a host of other important historical figures. These include composer (Wilhelm) Richard Wagner, philosophers Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz, and physicist Wilhelm Roentgen, who discovered the X-ray. It now sounds rather dated in Germany, however, having dropped out of the Top 20 there in the late 1920s and continuing to decline since.

Guillermo

• Origin:

  Spanish variation of William

• Description:

  As with Guillaume (see above), Liam, Willem, and Wilhelm, everyday Williams in their own countries, Guillermo is a captivating possibility here. Giermo, Gigermo, Gijermo, Gillermo, Gillirmo, Giyermo, Guermillo, Guiermo Guilermón, Guille, Guillelmo, Guillermino, Guillo, Guirmo, Gullermo, Llermo, Memo, Quillermo.

Gwilym

• Origin:

  Welsh variation of William

• Meaning:

  "resolute protection"

• Description:

  The Welsh version of William is almost unheard-of across, but it's fairly straightforward and could make a good heritage choice or alternative honor name.

Kleo

• Origin:

  Variation of Cleo, Greek

• Meaning:

  "glory"

• Description:

  Khloe : Chloe :: Kleo : Cleo

Guillaume

• Origin:

  French variation of William

• Description:

  An everyday name in France, a charismatic possibility here.

Vilhelm

• Origin:

  German variation of William

• Description:

  The way Wilhelm is pronounced anyway, so a pointless spelling variation.

Guglielmo

• Origin:

  Italian variation of William

• Description:

  William is a stylish classic right now, and while translating many classic names into Italian makes them instantly cooler and more attractive, this is one exception: Guglielmo presents pronunciation problems for the English speaker, suggesting the less-than-cool word "googley" followed by the even-less-cool-than-that Elmo.

Uilliam

• Origin:

  Irish variation of William

• Description:

  A spelling that would definitely attract a lot of attention -- and a certain amount of confusion as well.

Uilleam

• Origin:

  Scottish variation of William

• Description:

  Most Americans would take the easy way out and spell it Willem, as in artist de Kooning and actor Dafoe.

Vasilios

Vili

Guilherme

Vaska

Welfel

Vassily

Viliam

• Origin:

  Czech variation of William

• Description:

  Substituting the V for the W sounds almost comedic to the American ear.

Vassili

Gillermo

Vasiliy

Vilko

Guillem

• Origin:

  Catalan form of William

• Description:

  An exotic way to spin an old standard. Pronounced with a hard G: gee-yem.

Viljo

• Origin:

  Finnish variation of William

• Description:

  Inventive nickname option, but with built-in pronunciation problems.

Vila

Vilppu

Vilous

Guillo

Guilermo

Vasilak

Vilem

Giermo

Guillermino

Gigermo

Vassos

Vilek

Viljami

Vilmo