Williamson
Son of William, a popular English name derived from Germanic roots.
Name Census estimates that about 74 living Americans carry the first name Williamson. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Williamson today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Williamson births was 1924 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Williamson. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Williamson. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
74
~ 1 in 4,631,815 Americans
Peak year
1924
9 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2023 SSA rank
#14,076
Tracked since 1924
Census
Williamson in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 296 people with the first name Williamson, which placed it at #29,744 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
#29,744
National first-name rank
People counted
296
296 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
43.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Williamson
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Williamson is White at 43.9%. The next largest groups are Black (39.2%) and Hispanic (6.4%). 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 Williamson 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 Williamson at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White43.9% · 130
- Black or African American39.2% · 116
- Hispanic or Latino6.4% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.1% · 18
- Two or more races2.4% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 6
Popularity
Williamson: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Williamson from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 24 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Williamson 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 Williamson 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 Williamson
The given name Williamson is an English surname originating from the personal name William, which itself derives from the Germanic name Willahelm. This name is composed of two elements: wil meaning "will" or "desire", and helm meaning "helmet" or "protection". Together, the name Williamson can be interpreted as "resolute protector" or "strong-willed guardian".
The name William gained widespread popularity across Europe during the Middle Ages, particularly after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. The victorious William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, ascended to the English throne and his name became a symbol of power and authority. This likely contributed to the proliferation of the name Williamson as a patronymic surname, indicating "son of William".
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Williamson can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive survey of land ownership commissioned by William the Conqueror himself. The name appears in various spellings, such as Willelmus filius and Willelmessone, reflecting the linguistic evolution of the time.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Williamson. One such example is Sir Joseph Williamson (1633-1701), an English politician and diplomat who served as Secretary of State during the reign of King Charles II. Another prominent Williamson was Hugh Williamson (1735-1819), a American scholar and politician who signed the United States Constitution.
In the realm of literature, the name Williamson is associated with the English author Henry Williamson (1895-1977), best known for his celebrated nature novels such as "Tarka the Otter" and "The Patriot's Progress". Additionally, the American writer Jack Williamson (1908-2006) made significant contributions to the science fiction genre, earning him the title of "Dean of Science Fiction".
Lastly, one cannot overlook the impact of the Scottish-American actor Steven Williamson (1949-2022), who gained widespread acclaim for his portrayal of Captain John Yossarian in the film adaptation of Joseph Heller's novel "Catch-22".
While the name Williamson has evolved and been adapted across various cultures and time periods, its origins remain firmly rooted in the Germanic heritage, carrying the essence of strength, determination, and a protective spirit.
People
Williamson + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Williamson 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
Williamson: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Williamson?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 74 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Williamson 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 4,631,815 US residents.
Is Williamson a common name?
We classify Williamson as "Very Rare". It ranks above 60.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 87 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Williamson most popular?
The single biggest year for Williamson was 1924, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Williamson is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Williamson in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 296 people with the name Williamson, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,744 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 Williamson 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 Williamson?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Williamson leans strongly male. 275 people counted with this name were male (90.8%), compared with 28 female bearers (9.2%). 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 Williamson?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Williamson is White at 43.9%. The next largest groups are Black (39.2%) and Hispanic (6.4%). 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 Williamson most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Williamson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 43.9% (130 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 Williamson in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Williamson a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Williamson 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 Williamson still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Williamson 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 Williamson 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 share the name Williamson?
You can see how many people have the name Williamson on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.