Wlliam
A masculine name of Germanic origin meaning "resolute protector" or "helmet guardian".
Name Census estimates that about 75 living Americans carry the first name Wlliam. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Wlliam today is around 55 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wlliam births was 1985 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wlliam. 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 Wlliam. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
75
~ 1 in 4,570,058 Americans
Peak year
1985
13 babies that year
Average age
55
years old
1987 SSA rank
#5,439
Tracked since 1920
Popularity
Wlliam: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Wlliam from the 1920s through to the 1980s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 39 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1960s peak, Wlliam remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Wlliam 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 Wlliam 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 Wlliam
The name Wlliam is derived from the Germanic elements "wil" meaning "will" or "desire" and "helm" meaning "helmet" or "protection." It originated as the Old German name Willihelm, which later evolved into Wilhelm in German and Guillaume in French.
The name can be traced back to the early Middle Ages, around the 7th to 9th centuries. It became popular across Europe during the reign of William the Conqueror, who was Duke of Normandy before conquering England in 1066. William the Conqueror is one of the earliest and most famous bearers of the name.
Another notable historical figure with the name Wlliam was William Wallace, the Scottish knight and landowner who led the resistance against the English in the Wars of Scottish Independence in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. His life and exploits were dramatized in the 1995 film "Braveheart."
In the 16th century, William Shakespeare (1564-1616) rose to prominence as one of the greatest playwrights and poets of all time. His works, including plays like "Hamlet," "Romeo and Juliet," and "Macbeth," have had a profound impact on literature and language worldwide.
During the 17th century, William Penn (1644-1718) was an influential Quaker who founded the colony of Pennsylvania, which became one of the original 13 colonies of the United States. Penn's ideals of religious freedom and democracy shaped the principles of the future nation.
In the realm of science, William Herschel (1738-1822) was a notable astronomer who discovered the planet Uranus and made significant contributions to the understanding of the solar system and the universe.
These are just a few examples of the many notable historical figures who have borne the name Wlliam, reflecting its enduring popularity and significance across various cultures and eras.
People
Wlliam + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wlliam 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
Wlliam: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wlliam?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 75 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wlliam 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 4,570,058 US residents.
Is Wlliam a common name?
We classify Wlliam as "Very Rare". It ranks above 60.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 96 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wlliam most popular?
The single biggest year for Wlliam was 1985, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wlliam is about 55 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Wlliam in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Wlliam a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Wlliam 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 Wlliam still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Wlliam 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 Wlliam 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Wlliam?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.