Guillaume
A French masculine given name derived from Germanic roots meaning "resolute protector".
Name Census estimates that about 331 living Americans carry the first name Guillaume. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Guillaume today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Guillaume births was 1997 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Guillaume. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
331
~ 1 in 1,035,512 Americans
Peak year
1997
19 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,365
Tracked since 1967
Popularity
Guillaume: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Guillaume from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 114 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Guillaume by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Guillaume during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Guillaume
The given name Guillaume originates from the Germanic languages, with roots tracing back to the 8th century. It is a French form of the Germanic name Willahelm, derived from the elements "wil" meaning "will" or "desire" and "helm" meaning "helmet" or "protection." The name evolved into Guillelmus in Latin, then Guillaume in Old French.
The name gained prominence during the Norman conquest of England in 1066, when William the Conqueror (c. 1028-1087), also known as Guillaume le Conquérant, led the Norman invasion and became the first Norman king of England. This significant historical event contributed to the widespread use of the name Guillaume across Europe.
In the 12th century, the French philosopher and logician William of Ockham (c. 1287-1347), also known as Guillaume d'Ockham, rose to prominence with his influential philosophical principles, including Occam's razor. His works had a lasting impact on medieval philosophy and the development of modern scientific thought.
Another notable figure was William of Tyre (c. 1130-1186), a medieval chronicler and archbishop whose full name was Guillaume de Tyr. His work, Historia rerum in partibus transmarinis gestarum, is considered one of the most influential accounts of the Crusades.
In the 16th century, Guillaume Budé (1467-1540), a French scholar and humanist, played a crucial role in the revival of classical studies and the promotion of humanism during the Renaissance period.
The 17th century saw the rise of the French composer Guillaume Dufay (c. 1397-1474), a prominent figure in the Burgundian School and one of the earliest composers to gain widespread recognition across Europe.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Guillaume, reflecting its enduring presence and significance across various fields and eras.
People
Guillaume + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Guillaume as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Guillaume: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Guillaume?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 331 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Guillaume going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,035,512 US residents.
Is Guillaume a common name?
We classify Guillaume as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 341 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Guillaume most popular?
The single biggest year for Guillaume was 1997, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Guillaume is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Guillaume a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Guillaume in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.