FastNamesWilliam
Germanic and English name meaning "Derived from Germanic Wilhelm, compounded of wil ('will, desire') and helm ('helmet, protection'), conveying resolute guardianship.". Ranked 9th for boys in 2025.
Meaning and origin of William
Derived from Germanic Wilhelm, compounded of wil ('will, desire') and helm ('helmet, protection'), conveying resolute guardianship.
Linguistically, William is classified under Germanic and English naming traditions. It is typically pronounced "WIL-yuhm".
Popularity and ranking
In official US Social Security birth records from 1880 through 2025, William has been given to a total of 4,199,696 boys. It has also been given to 16,029 girls.
Peak year: William reached its highest relative share among boys in 1880, when 9,532 babies received the name (86,270 per million births).
All-time best rank: 2nd place, first achieved in 1880.
Recent standing (2025): Ranked 9th with 10,545 births. Ten years earlier in 2015, it ranked 5th (down 4 spots).
Busiest decade: More boys were named William in the 1950s than in any other decade (591,228 births).
| Decade | Recorded births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 84,881 |
| 1890s | 72,244 |
| 1900s | 69,320 |
| 1910s | 303,017 |
| 1920s | 512,402 |
| 1930s | 416,730 |
| 1940s | 556,478 |
| 1950s | 591,228 |
| 1960s | 421,433 |
| 1970s | 283,401 |
| 1980s | 248,277 |
| 1990s | 217,822 |
| 2000s | 194,415 |
| 2010s | 159,981 |
| 2020s | 68,067 |
Source: Social Security Administration, national baby name data, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
Where William is most common in the US
Accounting for when William was in fashion nationally, it has been most heavily concentrated in the following states (measured against the expected rate from each state's births):
- Delaware: 1.8 times the national rate (13,977 births since 1910).
- Virginia: 1.4 times the national rate (128,158 births since 1910).
- District of Columbia: 1.4 times the national rate (29,316 births since 1910).
- Maryland: 1.4 times the national rate (82,241 births since 1910).
- North Carolina: 1.4 times the national rate (161,929 births since 1910).
Source: Social Security Administration, baby names by state, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a state in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
How many people have the name William?
About 2,202,000 living American boys and men share the name William. Additionally, an estimated 8,600 living American girls and women share the name.
The median age of an American named William is 56 years old.
Estimated from Social Security Administration records (1880–2025) and official SSA cohort mortality tables.
History of the name William
William emerged from the Old Germanic compound name Wilhelm, becoming prominent throughout Normandy before sweeping into Britain with William the Conqueror in 1066. The Norman victory rapidly transformed the English onomastic landscape, swiftly superseding Anglo-Saxon names like Wulfric and Aethelred.
The name was reinforced across centuries by four English kings, as well as cultural icons like playwright William Shakespeare, poet William Wordsworth, and philosopher William of Ockham. In colonial America, William was favored across both New England and the southern colonies, ultimately borne by four United States presidents: Harrison, McKinley, Taft, and Clinton.
Social Security records illustrate William's remarkable demographic staying power: it was the second most popular boys' name in 1880, and has never fallen below rank twenty in nearly a century and a half of national tracking. Over 4.2 million American boys have carried the name since 1880, while its diminutive Liam embarked on its own journey to the summit of modern American baby name charts.
Notable people named William
- William Shakespeare (1564–1616), Playwright and poet
- William Wordsworth (1770–1850), Romantic poet
- William Blake (1757–1827), Poet and artist
- William Faulkner (1897–1962), Novelist and Nobel laureate
- William James (1842–1910), Philosopher and psychologist
Variants and related names
Spelling variants
Diminutives and nicknames
Related names
Sources and references
- Patrick Hanks, Kate Hardcastle, Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of First Names (2006), p. 278.
- E. G. Withycombe. The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names (1977), p. 293.
- Douglas Harper. Online Etymology Dictionary. Reference link.