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William

in the US

There are 2,356,641 people with the first name "William" in the United States.

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Ranking in the US

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

Similar Names and Nicknames

Will, Will, Billy, Billie, Willy, Willie, Willbur, Willis, Bil, Wilis

Most Common Last Names for William

Smith, Johnson, Brown, Jones, Miller, Davis, Wilson, Moore, Taylor, Martin

Meaning & History

(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.

Recent Searches for "William" in the US

Since June 2009
800,713

Most Popular Search

William Smith (9,218 searches)
Source: Current searches and listings for US adults on WhitePages.

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