(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.
Irish: reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hAodha ‘descendant of Aodh’, a personal name meaning ‘fire’ (compare McCoy). In some cases, especially in County Wexford, the surname is of English origin (see below), having been taken to Ireland by the Normans.
English: habitational name from any of various places, for example in Devon and Worcestershire, so called from the plural of Middle English hay ‘enclosure’ (see Hay 1), or a topographic name from the same word.
English: habitational name from any of various places, for example in Dorset, Greater London (formerly in Kent and Middlesex), and Worcestershire, so called from Old English hǣse ‘brushwood’, or a topographic name from the same word.
English: patronymic from Hay 3.
French: variant (plural) of Haye 3.
Jewish (Ashkenazic): metronymic from Yiddish name Khaye ‘life’ + the Yiddish possessive suffix -s.
FOREBEARS U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes (1822–1893), born in Delaware, OH, was descended from old New England families on both sides. Through the paternal line he was descended from George Hayes, who emigrated from Scotland in 1680 and settled in Windsor, CT.
