William Lovelace

(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: variant of Loveless. The spelling is apparently the result of folk etymology, which understood the word as a nickname for a dandy fond of lace. The modern sense of this word is, however, not attested until the 16th century and at the time of surname formation it meant only ‘cord’ or ‘shoelace’.