William
William was the 9th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 10,545 babies. Its best year was 1880, when it ranked 2nd; the most babies were born in 1947 (67,002). Over the last ten years it has moved down 4 places. More babies were named William in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Meaning will + helmet (Germanic) · Germanic
Say it WIL-yum /ˈwɪljəm/
- Rank in 2025
- #9 boys, down 4 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 10,545boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 194767,002 babies
- Total since 1880
- 4,215,725babies recorded
What does the name William mean?
William comes from Germanic elements meaning 'will' or 'desire' and 'helmet'. It has been popular in England since the Norman Conquest, and two 11th-century kings of England bore it. The Irish short form Liam is now even more popular in the US.
willo (Old High German, “will”)helm (Old High German / Old Saxon, “helmet”)
How sure is this? Probable.
See also: Germanic names, names that mean protector.
Nicknames for William
The usual nicknames for William are Will, Liam, Billy, Bill and Willie. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named William in the last five years, 190 were named Liam, against 18 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Will · also for Willard, Wilbur, Wilbert | Traditional | #1,195 | 886 |
| Liam · Irish short form that became a name of its own | Traditional | #1 | 104,977 |
| Billy · also for Bill | Traditional | #1,068 | 1,037 |
| Bill | Traditional | #5,235 | 111 |
| Willie · also for Wilma, Will | Traditional | #1,322 | 766 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Williams go by each one.
William popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 16,029 since 1880, 7 in 2025.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #9 | 10,545 |
| 2020 | #5 | 12,676 |
| 2010 | #5 | 17,072 |
| 2000 | #11 | 20,669 |
| 1990 | #16 | 24,906 |
| 1980 | #14 | 25,639 |
| 1970 | #7 | 38,887 |
| 1960 | #7 | 49,361 |
| 1950 | #6 | 60,680 |
| 1940 | #4 | 44,779 |
| 1930 | #4 | 47,271 |
| 1920 | #2 | 50,146 |
| 1910 | #3 | 8,844 |
| 1900 | #2 | 8,579 |
| 1890 | #2 | 7,494 |
| 1880 | #2 | 9,532 |
How popular is William, counting every spelling?
William is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #11 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #9 for William on its own. Together these spellings went to 10,565 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| William | 10,545 | #9 | 55,391 |
| Wiliam | 13 | #6,783 | 48 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name William?
10,545 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named William (2.92 per 1,000 births). For a boy named William born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is about 1 in 18. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, a typical elementary school of 430 pupils would have about 1.3 children named William.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named William?
About 2,136,900 people born in the US named William are alive today, with a median age of 55; half are between 32 and 70. That makes William mostly worn by adults in their thirties to fifties. The wide spread shows a name popular in two different eras.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
William by state
How common William was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Wyoming (2.8×), District of Columbia (2.6×), Alabama (2.3×), Mississippi (2.2×), New Hampshire (2.1×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in California, Arizona, Florida.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with William: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like William, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for William · Sibling names for William
Questions about the name William
What does William mean?
William means “will + helmet (Germanic)” (Germanic origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name William?
William was the 9th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 10,545 babies. Its best year was 1880, when it ranked 2nd; the most babies were born in 1947 (67,002). Over the last ten years it has moved down 4 places. More babies were named William in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Is William a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name William in the US.
Where is William most popular?
In 2021–2025, William was most common in Wyoming (18.15 per 1,000 boys), followed by District of Columbia and Alabama.