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 <a href="https://nameberry.com/search/boys-names/w">baby name beginning with W</a> 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 But Irish spinoff Liam is the most stylish William nickname and has now superseded William, becoming the most popular boy name in America.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

Most famous as one of the many <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/673/middle-names">middle names</a> of Professor Dumbledore from Harry Potter,
Wulfric is an earlier form of the medieval English name Ulric. It has also belonged to an 11th-
century Earl of Mercia and a 12th-century saint. 
An interesting way to get to cool-kid nickname Wolf.

Wulfric

tgannon1423's list "Anglo-Saxon Baby Names" of 2 great name ideas: William - Wulfric!

Anglo-Saxon Baby Names

This is a list of Anglo-Saxon names (7th - 11th centuries AD) that have record of use and could be suitable for a modern baby. My source is the online PASE database and "The Names of Testators in the Cartularium Saxonicum Malmesburiensem" by Sara L. Uckelman.

Anglo-Saxon Baby Names

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