(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.
English: topographic name for someone who lived near a ford, Middle English, Old English ford, or a habitational name from one of the many places named with this word, such as Ford in Northumberland, Shropshire, and West Sussex, or Forde in Dorset.
Irish: Anglicized form (quasi-translation) of various Gaelic names, for example Mac Giolla na Naomh ‘son of Gilla na Naomh ’ (a personal name meaning ‘servant of the saints’), Mac Conshámha ‘son of Conshnámha ’ (a personal name composed of the elements con ‘dog’ + snámh ‘to swim’), in all of which the final syllable was wrongly thought to be áth ‘ford’, and Ó Fuar(th)áin (see Foran).
Jewish: Americanized form of one or more like-sounding Jewish surnames.
Translation of German Fürth(see Furth).
