William
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Meaning
From Germanic elements meaning "will, desire" and "helmet, protection".
Goes by Bill, Billy, Liam, Will. See all nicknames
Famously borne by William Lloyd Garrison, whose newspaper The Liberator became a leading voice against American slavery.
The story
William was already common among the Normans when their ruler conquered England in 1066. William I was crowned at Westminster on Christmas Day. The conquest changed who controlled land and government, and the new rulers used castles and a detailed survey of property, known as Domesday, to consolidate their power. The name became extremely popular in England after the conquest and remained established for centuries, with later monarchs adding further royal associations.
The older name is Germanic Willehelm, built from words for “will” or “desire” and “helmet” or “protection.” Guillermo in Spanish, Guilherme in Portuguese and Guillaume in French belong to the same family. English speakers use both Will and Bill as familiar forms. Irish Liam also began as a short form and is independently given as a first name.
Will has an extra possibility in English because the name is also an ordinary word. Shakespeare uses that overlap in Sonnet 136, repeatedly playing on will, desire and the name Will before the speaker names himself. The joke depends on hearing both the word and the person’s name in the same line.
William across languages
One shared root links 12 names across 3 languages.
Shared root: from Germanic Willahelm, wil "will, desire" + helm "helmet, protection"
The constellation
10 more branches of this family
On record since at least the 10th century: William Long Sword, Count of Rouen.
How popular is William around the world?
In the United States, 68,131 babies were named William between 2020 and 2025. In Norway, 368 boys were given the name William in 2025.
William is on the official records of the United States, Norway, South Australia, Canada, England and Wales, New Zealand, Scotland, Ireland, New South Wales, France, Brazil, Chile, Puerto Rico, Austria, Mexico City, Argentina, Poland, Montevideo and Spain.
William crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of an English-speaking birth record and of a Spanish-speaking one. The full list: English and Spanish
United States
1 in 320
In the United States, 68,131 babies were named William between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. William peaked in the 1890s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure. William went to 15,965 US babies in 2015 and 10,552 in 2025, 66% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Norway
1 in 76register 2026
In Norway, 368 boys were given the name William in 2025.
share of the boys on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure
People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)
South Australia
1 in 1602017
In South Australia, 114 boys were registered as William in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Canada
1 in 270
In Canada, 1,367 boys named William were born in 2024, the 5th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
England and Wales
1 in 400
In England and Wales, 1,456 boys named William were born in 2025, the 25th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
New Zealand
1 in 460
In New Zealand, 125 boys named William were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Scotland
1 in 590
In Scotland, 77 boys named William were registered in 2024, the 66th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Ireland
1 in 670
In Ireland, 81 boys named William were born in 2025, the 73rd most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
New South Wales
#11 · 2025
In New South Wales, 290 boys named William were registered in 2025, ranked 11th in that year’s top 100 for boys.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
France
1 in 1,300
In France, about 485 boys named William were born in 2025, the 126th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Brazil
1 in 2,100
At the 2022 census, 95,539 people in Brazil were named William, the 330th most common name, with a median age of 29.
Among people named William living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 2,475 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Chile
1 in 2,500
In Chile, 70 boys were registered as William in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Puerto Rico
1 in 2,600
In Puerto Rico, 7 babies were named William in 2025, and 1,859 have carried the name since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
Austria
1 in 3,500
In Austria, 22 boys named William were born in 2025, the 265th most common name among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Mexico City City
1 in 3,900
In Mexico City, there were 30 registrations of William in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Argentina
1 in 5,400
In Argentina, 123 newborns were given the name William in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Poland
1 in 5,900
In Poland, 42 boys named William were born in 2025, the 190th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Montevideo City
1 in 6,2002011
In Montevideo, 4 boys named William were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Spain
1 in 15,000
In Spain, 2,928 residents are named William, the 631st most common name among men, with a mean age of 42.1 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
When you meet William
People given the name William in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1950 to 1999. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Where William travels
Scandinavian · a top-ranked name in Norway, Sweden and Denmark in recent years
Global crossover · a top-10 name in the US, UK and much of the English-speaking and Germanic-speaking world for generations
Keep exploring
Names like William · Names that go with William · Nicknames for William · Middle names for William · Scandinavian baby names · Global crossover names · Names of revolutionaries and liberators · Climbers and fallers
The William deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where William truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how William fits with your family’s names and surname.
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