Viliami
Samoan form of the name William, derived from Germanic elements meaning "will" and "helmet".
Name Census estimates that about 534 living Americans carry the first name Viliami. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Viliami today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Viliami births was 2010 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Viliami. 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
534
~ 1 in 641,862 Americans
Peak year
2010
21 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,903
Tracked since 1980
Popularity
Viliami: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Viliami from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 155 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Viliami remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Viliami 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 Viliami during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Viliamis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Utah, Hawaii recorded the most babies named Viliami, while Hawaii, Utah, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 70 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Viliami
The name Viliami has its origins in the Polynesian language of Tonga, which is spoken in the island nation of Tonga in the South Pacific. It is the Tongan form of the English name William, which itself has Germanic roots and means "resolute protector" or "protection." Viliami is a combination of two words in the Tongan language: vili, meaning "will" or "desire," and ami, meaning "protector" or "guardian."
In Tonga, the name Viliami has been in use for centuries and has been borne by many notable figures throughout the country's history. One of the earliest recorded examples is Viliami Tungī Halatuituia, who was the 23rd Tuʻi Tonga (paramount chief) of the Tongan Empire and reigned from around 1470 to 1490.
Another historical figure with this name was Viliami Latu Vaipuna, a Tongan noble and military leader who played a crucial role in the Tongan Civil War of the late 18th century. He fought alongside the forces of Tāufaʻāhau, who later became King George Tupou I, the first monarch of the united Kingdom of Tonga.
In more recent history, Viliami Tʻu'ivanuavou Vāvā was a Tongan noble and politician who served as the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Tonga from 1975 to 1979. He was born in 1912 and passed away in 1995.
One of the most famous bearers of the name Viliami in modern times was Viliami Fukofuka, a Tongan rugby union player who played as a prop for the Tongan national team in the 1990s and early 2000s. He was born in 1970 and represented Tonga in the 1995, 1999, and 2003 Rugby World Cups.
Another notable figure was Viliami Tungī Mailefihi, a Tongan politician and diplomat who served as the Prime Minister of Tonga from 1991 to 2006. He was born in 1938 and played a significant role in Tonga's transition to a more democratic form of government.
While the name Viliami is most commonly associated with Tonga, it has also been adopted and used in other Polynesian cultures, particularly in Samoa and Fiji. However, its origins and deepest roots can be traced back to the Tongan language and culture, where it has held a significant place for centuries.
People
Viliami + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Viliami as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with V
Other first names starting with V with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Viliami: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Viliami?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 534 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Viliami 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 641,862 US residents.
Is Viliami a common name?
We classify Viliami as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 543 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Viliami most popular?
The single biggest year for Viliami was 2010, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Viliami is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Viliami a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Viliami 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.