Wm
Abbreviated form of the English masculine name William, meaning "resolute protector."
Name Census estimates that about 738 living Americans carry the first name Wm. It is a predominantly male name (96.9% of registrations). The average person named Wm today is around 55 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wm births was 1916 (91 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wm. 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
- • Although Wm is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 86 girls registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
738
~ 1 in 464,437 Americans
Peak year
1916
91 babies that year
Average age
55
years old
1992 SSA rank
#4,034
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Wm
Wm leans heavily male at 96.9% of total registrations, but 86 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Wm as a male name
- Ranked #8,404 in 1992
- 6 male births in 1992
- Peak: 1916 (85 births)
Wm as a female name
- Ranked #4,034 in 1930
- 7 female births in 1930
- Peak: 1920 (10 births)
Popularity
Wm: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Wm from the 1880s through to the 1990s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 630 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
Wm 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 Wm during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Wms live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. Ohio, Illinois, New York recorded the most babies named Wm, while Virginia, Utah, Tennessee recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 28 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Wm
The name Wm is a shortened form of the given name William, which is derived from the Germanic name Willahelm. This name originated in the 8th century and is composed of two elements: "wil" meaning "will" or "desire," and "helm" meaning "helmet" or "protection." The name essentially translates to "resolute protection" or "strong-willed protector."
The name William gained widespread popularity across Europe after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, when William the Conqueror became the King of England. This historical event played a significant role in establishing the name as a popular choice among the nobility and commoners alike.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Wm can be found in the Domesday Book, a manuscript record of the great survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. This document contains numerous references to individuals with the name William, some of whom were landowners and notable figures of the time.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Wm, including:
1. Wm Shakespeare (1564-1616), the renowned English playwright and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the English language.
2. Wm Wordsworth (1770-1850), an English Romantic poet who helped launch the Romantic Age in English literature with his seminal work, "Lyrical Ballads."
3. Wm Wilberforce (1759-1833), a British politician, philanthropist, and leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade in the British Empire.
4. Wm Faulkner (1897-1962), an American writer and Nobel Prize laureate known for his novels set in the American South, such as "The Sound and the Fury" and "Absalom, Absalom!"
5. Wm Blake (1757-1827), an English poet, painter, and printmaker, known for his visionary works such as "Songs of Innocence and Experience" and "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell."
The name Wm has a rich historical significance and has been borne by numerous influential figures across various fields, including literature, politics, and art. Its enduring popularity can be attributed to its strong Germanic roots and the widespread influence of William the Conqueror in English history.
People
Wm + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wm 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
Wm: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wm?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 738 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wm 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 464,437 US residents.
Is Wm a common name?
We classify Wm as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,736 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wm most popular?
The single biggest year for Wm was 1916, when 91 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wm is about 55 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Wm a male name?
Yes, 96.9% of people registered as Wm 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.