William Bamberg

(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.

German and Jewish (western Ashkenazic): habitational name from the city of Bamberg in Bavaria (formerly in Upper Franconia). Between 1007 and 1702 it was the capital of a powerful ecclesiastical state, and in the 15th century the bishops of Bamberg were raised to princely rank.