William Fleming

(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.

English: ethnic name for someone from Flanders. In the Middle Ages there was considerable commercial intercourse between England and the Netherlands, particularly in the wool trade, and many Flemish weavers and dyers settled in England. The word reflects a Norman French form of Old French flamenc, from the stem flam- + the Germanic suffix -ing. The surname is also common in south and east Scotland and in Ireland, where it is sometimes found in the Gaelicized form Pléimeann.