(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 Scottish: occupational name for a stonemason, Middle English, Old French mas(s)on. Compare Machen. Stonemasonry was a hugely important craft in the Middle Ages.
Italian (Veneto): from a short form of Masone.
French: from a regional variant of maison ‘house’.
FOREBEARS George Mason (1725–92), the American colonial statesman who framed the VA Bill of Rights and Constitution, which was used as a model by Thomas Jefferson when drafting the Declaration of Independence, was a VA planter, fourth in descent from George Mason (?1629–?86), a royalist soldier of the English Civil War who had received land grants in VA. As well as being prominent in the affairs of VA, the family also produced the first governor of MI. Two other families of this name were among the early English settlers in America. John Mason (1586–1635) was born in King's Lynn, Norfolk, became governor of Newfoundland in 1615, and was one of the founders of NH. His namesake, John Mason (?1600–72), emigrated before 1633 and was one of the founders of Norwich, CT.
