Home>Name Popularity>William Graves in the US

William Graves

in the US

There are 790 people with the name "William Graves" in the United States.

Top cities for this name

Ranking in the US

Name	Rank
William	6
Graves	330
William Graves	8,486

is 2nd most common Robert
is 3rd most common James
is 4th most common Michael
is 5th most common David
is 6th most common William
is 7th most common Mary
is 8th most common Richard
is 9th most common Thomas
is 10th most common Joseph

is 326th most common Haynes
is 327th most common Terry
is 328th most common Bush
is 329th most common Page
is 330th most common Graves
is 331st most common Lyons
is 332nd most common Fletcher
is 333rd most common Zimmerman
is 334th most common Miles

is 8,482nd most common Pamela Young
is 8,483rd most common Paula Davis
is 8,484th most common Randy Thompson
is 8,485th most common Stephen Campbell
is 8,486th most common William Graves
is 8,487th most common William Ramsey
is 8,488th most common Andrew Harris
is 8,489th most common Blanca Martinez
is 8,490th most common Carl Thomas

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Meaning & History

William

Graves

(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.