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William

in Massachusetts

There are 62,727 people with the first name "William" in Massachusetts.

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Ranking in Massachusetts

NameRank
William 7
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  1. is 3rd most common Michael
  2. is 4th most common David
  3. is 5th most common James
  4. is 6th most common Richard
  5. is 7th most common William
  6. is 8th most common Joseph
  7. is 9th most common Mary
  8. is 10th most common Paul
  9. is 11th most common Thomas

Similar Names and Nicknames

Will, Will, Billy, Billie, Willy, Willie, Willbur, Willis, Bil, Wilis

Most Common Last Names for William

Smith, Sullivan, Murphy, Brown, Obrien, Johnson, Martin, White, Walsh, Mccarthy

Meaning & History

(male) Probably the most successful of all the Old French names of Germanic origin that were introduced to England by the Normans. It is derived from Germanic wil ‘will, desire’ + helm ‘helmet, protection’. The fact that it was borne by the Conqueror himself does not seem to have inhibited its favour with the ‘conquered’ population: in the first century after the Conquest it was the commonest male name of all, and not only among the Normans. In the later Middle Ages it was overtaken by John, but continued to run second to that name until the 20th century, when the picture became more fragmented.

Short forms: Will, Bill.

Pet forms: Willy, Willie, Billy.

Cognates: Irish: Uilliam. Scottish Gaelic: Uilleam. Welsh: Gwilym. German: Wilhelm. Dutch: Willem. Scandinavian: Vilhelm. French: Guillaume. Spanish: Guilermo. Catalan: Guillem. Portuguese: Guilherme. Italian: Guglielmo. Czech: Vilém. Slovenian: Viljem. Hungarian: Vilmos. Lithuanian: Vilhelmas. Latvian: Vilhelms.

Recent Searches for "William" in Massachusetts

Since June 2009
27,208

Most Popular Search

William Smith, MA (636 searches)
Source: Current searches and listings for US adults on WhitePages.

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