William Meaning

The meaning of William is "determined protector".

William is generally used as a boy's name.

It consists of 7 letters and 3 syllables and is pronounced Wi-lli-am.

It is derived from the Germanic elements Wil meaning "will or determination" and helm meaning "helmet or protection, guardian".

One of a number of names introduced to Britain by the Normans, William was and still remains one of the most popular names in Britain. It was the most common boy name in the first century after the Conquest, and was second only to the name John during the Middle Ages.

The name William is used by the royal families of Britain, Germany and the Netherlands.

Today its most notably borne by Prince William the Duke of Cambridge.

William falls into the name categories classic, easy nickname.

Some famous bearers of this name include: William 'Pop' Gates, and William 'Skinny' Johnson.

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In contrast, the year before it ranked 3 in baby name popularity for boys with 14,967 occurrences. It ranked 6,774 in baby name popularity for girls with 18 occurrences.

Want to see how William sizes up? How it compares to some other names? Then check out the William Name Popularity Page.

The names Gilen, Gillermo, Guglielmo, Guilermo, Guilherme, Guillaume, Guillelmina, Guillem, Guillermin, Guillermina, Guillermo, Guillhouf, Gulielma, Gwilherm, Gwilym, Liam, Lyam, Uilleam, Uilliam, Vilem, Vilhelm, Vilhelmas, Vilhelmi, Vilhelmo, Vilhjalmur, Viliam, Viljami, Viljem, Vilmos, Vilppu, Willamina, Willem, Williamon, Wiremu are all forms of William.

William has the diminutives (nicknames) Bill, Bille, Billy, Vilcjo, Wiley, Wilkie, Will, Willie, Willy, Wilmot.

• William ~ Saint
• William 'Pop' Gates ~ Basketball Player
• William 'Skinny' Johnson ~ Basketball Player
• William 'Smokey' Robinson Jr. ~ Musician
• William A. Clark Sr. ~ Business Mogul
• William Accambray ~ Handball Player
• William Adolphe Bouguereau ~ Artist
• William Alfred Fowler ~ Nobel Prize for Physics 1983
• William Andleby ~ Saint
• William Arnaud ~ Saint
• William Backhouse Astor Jr. ~ Business Mogul
• William Backhouse Astor Sr. ~ Business Mogul
• William Baffin ~ Explorer
• William Baldwin ~ Actor
• William Barrow ~ Saint
• William Blake ~ Artist, Writer
• William Breteuil ~ Saint
• William Browne ~ Saint
• William Butler Yeats ~ Writer, Nobel Prize for Literature 1923
• William C. Campbell ~ Nobel Prize for Medicine 2015
• William C. Durant ~ Business Mogul
• William Carter ~ Saint
• William Cavendish ~ British Prime Minister (1756-1757)
• William Cavendish Bentinck ~ British Prime Minister (1783; 1807-1809)
• William Clark ~ Explorer
• William Daniel Phillips ~ Nobel Prize for Physics 1997
• William Daniels ~ Actor
• William Davies ~ Saint
• William Dean ~ Saint
• William Dobbin ~ Vanity Fair character
• William E. Moerner ~ Nobel Prize for Chemistry 2014
• William Earl 'Bootsy' Collins ~ Musician
• William Edward Parry ~ Explorer
• William Elliot ~ Persuasion character
• William Ewart Gladstone ~ British Prime Minister (1868-1874; 1880-1885; 1886; 1892-1894)
• William Exmew ~ Saint
• William F. Sharpe ~ Nobel Prize for Economics 1990
• William Faulkner ~ Nobel Prize for Literature 1949, Writer
• William Fichtner ~ Actor
• William Filby ~ Saint
• William Firmatus ~ Saint
• William Freeman ~ Saint
• William Giauque ~ Nobel Prize for Chemistry 1949
• William Golding ~ Writer, Nobel Prize for Literature 1983
• William Grant Stairs ~ Explorer
• William Grant Still ~ Musician
• William Greenwood ~ Saint
• William Grenville ~ British Prime Minister (1806-1807)
• William Gunter ~ Saint
• William H. Macy ~ Actor
• William Harrington ~ Saint
• William Hart ~ Saint
• William Hartley ~ Saint
• William Henry Bragg ~ Nobel Prize for Physics 1915
• William Henry Harrison ~ U. S. President (1841)
• William Henry Pickering ~ Scientist
• William Herndon ~ Explorer
• William Herschel ~ Scientist
• William Holden ~ Actor
• William Horne ~ Saint
• William Hovell ~ Explorer
• William Howard ~ Saint
• William Howard Stein ~ Nobel Prize for Chemistry 1972
• William Howard Taft ~ U. S. President (1909-1913)
• William Huggins ~ Scientist
• William Hurt ~ Actor
• William Hyde Wollaston ~ Scientist
• William I the Conqueror ~ English King (1066-1087)
• William I the Lion ~ Scottish King (1165-1214)
• William II Rufus ~ English King (1087-1100)
• William III of Orange ~ English King (1689-1702), Scottish King (1689-1702)
• William Ireland ~ Saint
• William IV ~ British King (1830-1837)
• William Lacey ~ Saint
• William Lamb ~ British Prime Minister (1834; 1835-1841)
• William Lawrence Bragg ~ Nobel Prize for Physics 1915
• William Lipscomb ~ Nobel Prize for Chemistry 1976
• William Lyon Mackenzie King ~ Canadian Prime Minister (1921-1926; 1926-1930; 1935-1948)
• William Marsden ~ Saint
• William McKinley ~ U. S. President (1897-1901)
• William McMahon ~ Australian Prime Minister (1971-1972)
• William Moseley ~ Actor
• William of Bourges ~ Saint
• William of Brussels ~ Saint
• William of Eskhill ~ Saint
• William of Fenoli ~ Saint
• William of Gellone ~ Saint
• William of Hirsau ~ Saint
• William of Holland ~ German King (1247-1256)
• William of Maleval ~ Saint
• William of Penacorada ~ Saint
• William of Pontoise ~ Saint
• William of Vercelli ~ Saint
• William of Volpiano ~ Saint
• William P. Murphy ~ Nobel Prize for Medicine 1934
• William Patenson ~ Saint
• William Petty ~ British Prime Minister (1782-1783)
• William Pike ~ Saint
• William Pinchon ~ Saint
• William Pitt the Elder ~ British Prime Minister (1766-1768)
• William Pitt the Younger ~ British Prime Minister (1783-1801; 1804-1806)
• William Price ~ Mansfield Park character
• William R. 'Link' Lyman ~ Football Player
• William Ramsay ~ Nobel Prize for Chemistry 1904
• William Randolph Hearst ~ Business Mogul
• William Richardson ~ Saint
• William Rosenberg ~ Business Mogul
• William S. Harley ~ Business Mogul
• William Sadler ~ Actor
• William Shakespeare ~ Writer
• William Shatner ~ Actor
• William Shockley ~ Actor, Nobel Prize for Physics 1956
• William Southerne ~ Saint
• William Spenser ~ Saint
• William Standish Knowles ~ Nobel Prize for Chemistry 2001
• William Tempier ~ Saint
• William Thomson ~ Scientist, Saint
• William Tirry ~ Saint
• William Vickrey ~ Nobel Prize for Economics 1996
• William Waddington ~ French Prime Minister (1879)
• William Ward ~ Saint
• William Way ~ Saint
• William Weasley ~ Harry Potter character
• William Windom ~ Actor
• William Wordsworth ~ Writer

Then just follow the diagram below.

Just for fun, see the name William in Hieroglyphics, learn about ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics and write a Hieroglyphic message.

Learn about nautical flags and see your name or message written in nautical flags, on the William in Nautical Flags page.