(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.
1. English and Irish: from a word that originally denoted a wine steward, usually the chief servant of a medieval household, from Norman French butuiller (Old French bouteillier, Latin buticularius, from buticula ‘bottle’). In the large households of royalty and the most powerful nobility, the title came to denote an officer of high rank and responsibility, only nominally concerned with the supply of wine, if at all.
2. Anglicized form of French Boutilier.
3. Jewish (from Poland and Ukraine): occupational name for a bottle maker, from Yiddish butl ‘bottle’ + the agent suffix -er.
FOREBEARS This name was brought independently to New England by many bearers from the 17th century onward. William Butler was one of the founders of Hartford, CT, (coming from Cambridge, MA, with Thomas Hooker) in 1635. A Massachusetts family called Butler is descended from Nicholas Butler, who came to Dorchester, MA, from Ashford, Kent, England, in 1636 and subsequently moved to Martha's Vineyard.The name is also very common in Ireland. Irish bearers trace their ancestry to Theobald FitzWalter, who accompanied Henry II to Ireland in 1170 and in 1177 was created ‘Chief Butler’ (i.e. overlord) of Ireland by the king. FitzWalter's descendant James Butler (1665–1745), 2nd Duke of Ormonde, was a staunch Protestant and supporter of William of Orange in 1685. He served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and became Commander-in-Chief of the British army. But after the death of Queen Anne he opposed the accession of George I and took part in a Jacobite rising (1715), after which he spent the rest of his life in exile.
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![[Image: Color-coded map of the United States showing name distribution by state.]](/map/William.Butler.US.gif)
