William
What does the name William mean?
The meaning of the name “William” is: “Will, desire, A strong and resolute protector”.
Additional information: The masculine name William is a compound name of Germanic origin. It is a compound of two elements – wil, which means desire, and helm, which means helmet or protection, giving William the meaning ‘desire to protect’ or ‘resolute protection’. It was introduced by the Normans into England by William the Conqueror (1027-1087), who invaded England and became the first Norman king of England. It became one of the most popular boy names in England during the Medieval Period, as it was adopted by the English. Three other Kings of England bore the boy name William, various rulers of the Netherlands, two emperors of Germany, 4 Presidents of USA and also the eldest son of Prince Charles of Whales, among others.
It is an easy name to shorten for nicknames, with common ones being Will, Willy, Bill, Billy, and Liam, the latter being more popular in Ireland. Feminine variants of William are less common, and tend to derive from the more Germanic name Wilhelm: Wilma, Willa, and Wilhelmina. Other foreign variants beside the German Wilhelm are Guillaume (French), Guillermo (Spanish), and Gwillym (Welsh). William is sometimes misspelled as ‘Wiliam’, ‘Willam’, and ‘Willaim’.
The name William has remained popular since the Norman conquest of England in 1066, right through the Middle Ages and into more modern times. Since 1880, the lowest William has fallen in the top thousand boys names in the USA is twentieth, in 1990 and 1995. It was the 10th most popular boy name is USA in 2006, climbing up to number 5 in 2012.By 2014, it had climbed back up to being the fifth most popular name. Before 1988, William had been a fairly popular feminine name in the USA, but since then it hasn’t come back into the top thousand names. In England and Wales, William is just as popular as a boys name; it was the eighth most popular name for boys in 2013.
William is a name associated with British royalty (three kings and the current Duke of Cambridge, future King of England) and American Presidents (William ‘Bill’ Clinton, William Taft, William McKinley, and William Harrison).
The famous bearers of the name includes the English poet and playwright William Shakespeare (1564-1616), author of 'Romeo and Juliet', 'Macbeth', 'Hamlet', William Butler Yeats (Irish poet), William Kidd (a 17th century pirate), William Wordsworth (English poet), and William James Adams Jr. (American singer, better known as will.i.am).
William has given its name to Sweet Williams, which are associated with young lovers; a number of ballads are written about lovers named Sweet William, such as the legend of Black-Eyed Susan and Sweet William, and Fair Margaret and Sweet William.
It is an easy name to shorten for nicknames, with common ones being Will, Willy, Bill, Billy, and Liam, the latter being more popular in Ireland. Feminine variants of William are less common, and tend to derive from the more Germanic name Wilhelm: Wilma, Willa, and Wilhelmina. Other foreign variants beside the German Wilhelm are Guillaume (French), Guillermo (Spanish), and Gwillym (Welsh). William is sometimes misspelled as ‘Wiliam’, ‘Willam’, and ‘Willaim’.
The name William has remained popular since the Norman conquest of England in 1066, right through the Middle Ages and into more modern times. Since 1880, the lowest William has fallen in the top thousand boys names in the USA is twentieth, in 1990 and 1995. It was the 10th most popular boy name is USA in 2006, climbing up to number 5 in 2012.By 2014, it had climbed back up to being the fifth most popular name. Before 1988, William had been a fairly popular feminine name in the USA, but since then it hasn’t come back into the top thousand names. In England and Wales, William is just as popular as a boys name; it was the eighth most popular name for boys in 2013.
William is a name associated with British royalty (three kings and the current Duke of Cambridge, future King of England) and American Presidents (William ‘Bill’ Clinton, William Taft, William McKinley, and William Harrison).
The famous bearers of the name includes the English poet and playwright William Shakespeare (1564-1616), author of 'Romeo and Juliet', 'Macbeth', 'Hamlet', William Butler Yeats (Irish poet), William Kidd (a 17th century pirate), William Wordsworth (English poet), and William James Adams Jr. (American singer, better known as will.i.am).
William has given its name to Sweet Williams, which are associated with young lovers; a number of ballads are written about lovers named Sweet William, such as the legend of Black-Eyed Susan and Sweet William, and Fair Margaret and Sweet William.
Categories: American Names, Australian Names, British Names, Canadian Names, Classic Names, Compound Names, Cool Names, English Names, French Names, German Names, Germanic Names, Harry Potter Names, Middle Names, New Zealand Names, Norman Names, Pirate Names, Popular Names, President Names, Royal Names, Surnames Names, Teutonic Names
Used in: English speaking countries
Gender: Boy Names
Origins: German
Starts with: W
