(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 and North German: from a personal name or nickname meaning ‘stag’, Middle English hert, Middle Low German hërte, harte.
German: variant spelling of Hardt 1 and 2.
Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name or a nickname from German and Yiddish hart ‘hard’.
Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hAirt ‘descendant of Art’, a byname meaning ‘bear’, ‘hero’. The English name became established in Ireland in the 17th century.
French: from an Old French word meaning ‘rope’, hence possibly a metonymic occupational name for a rope maker or a hangman.
Dutch: nickname from Middle Dutch hart, hert ‘hard’, ‘strong’, ‘ruthless’, ‘unruly’.
FOREBEARS This name was brought independently to New England by many bearers from the 17th century onward. Stephen Hart was one of the founders of Hartford, CT, (coming from Cambridge, MA, with Thomas Hooker) in 1635.
