Willam
A variant form of the English masculine name William, derived from Germanic elements meaning "resolute protection".
Name Census estimates that about 1,603 living Americans carry the first name Willam. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Willam today is around 64 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Willam births was 1959 (76 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Willam. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Willam with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.6K
~ 1 in 213,821 Americans
Peak year
1959
76 babies that year
Average age
64
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,118
Tracked since 1880
Census
Willam in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 6,492 people with the first name Willam, which placed it at #3,288 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#3,288
National first-name rank
People counted
6.5K
6,492 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
77.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Willam
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Willam is White at 77.7%. The next largest groups are Black (10.5%) and Hispanic (6.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Willam described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Willam at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.7% · 5,044
- Black or African American10.5% · 681
- Hispanic or Latino6.8% · 441
- Two or more races2.6% · 171
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 98
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 57
Popularity
Willam: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Willam from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 560 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Willam 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 Willam during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Willams live
The SSA's state-level files cover 18 states and territories. Tennessee, Texas, California recorded the most babies named Willam, while Oklahoma, Mississippi, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 28 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Willam
The given name Willam originates from the Germanic languages, derived from the Old German name Willhelm. It is composed of two elements: "wil" meaning "will" or "desire," and "helm" meaning "helmet" or "protection." The name was popular among the ancient Germanic tribes and was later adopted by various cultures across Europe.
The earliest recorded use of the name Willam dates back to the 8th century, appearing in medieval manuscripts and historical records. It gained widespread popularity during the Middle Ages, particularly among the nobility and ruling classes. One of the most notable early bearers of the name was William the Conqueror, the Norman king who conquered England in 1066.
In the Christian tradition, the name Willam has been associated with several saints and religious figures. Saint William of Vercelli, an Italian hermit and founder of the Williamite order, lived in the 12th century. Saint William of York, an English archbishop and reformer, was active in the 12th century as well.
Throughout history, the name Willam has been borne by numerous influential individuals. William Shakespeare (1564-1616), the renowned English playwright and poet, is perhaps the most famous bearer of the name. His works have had a profound impact on literature and the English language.
Another notable figure was William the Silent (1533-1584), the Dutch statesman and leader of the Dutch Revolt against Spanish rule. He is considered the founder of the Netherlands and a key figure in the Dutch struggle for independence.
In the realm of science, William Herschel (1738-1822) was a German-born British astronomer who discovered the planet Uranus and made significant contributions to the study of the solar system.
William Wilberforce (1759-1833) was a British politician and philanthropist who played a crucial role in the abolition of the slave trade in the British Empire.
Finally, William Wallace (c. 1270-1305) was a Scottish knight and revolutionary who led the resistance against the English occupation of Scotland, as depicted in the film "Braveheart."
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Willam, showcasing its enduring popularity and significance across various cultures and eras.
People
Willam + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Willam as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with W
Other first names starting with W with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Willam: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Willam?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,603 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Willam 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 213,821 US residents.
Is Willam a common name?
We classify Willam as "Rare". It ranks above 92.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,510 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Willam most popular?
The single biggest year for Willam was 1959, when 76 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Willam is about 64 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Willam in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 6,492 people with the name Willam, or 2.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,288 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Willam in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Willam?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Willam appears almost entirely male. Of the 6,497 people counted with this name, 99.5% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Willam?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Willam is White at 77.7%. The next largest groups are Black (10.5%) and Hispanic (6.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Willam most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Willam in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.7% (5,044 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Willam in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Willam a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Willam 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.
Is Willam still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Willam in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Willam can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people have the name Willam?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.