William
Germanic wil “will, desire” plus helm “helmet,” carried into England by the Conquest.
Popularity, 1880–2025
The Conqueror's name and four presidents'; across a century and a half of records it has never gone out of fashion, a consistency almost no other name can claim.
William appears in the national records from the very first year, 1880. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American boys in every year from 1880 to 2025. It spent 118 years inside the top 10. Its biggest year was 1947, when 67,002 newborn boys received the name, ranking it No. 4 nationally. Its best ranking came in 1880, at No. 2. In 2025 it ranked No. 9 for boys. All told, 4,215,725 Americans have been given the name since 1880.
Related names
Other spellings on record: Willaim (1,597), Wiliam (1,256) (total births since 1880)
Other names that share a story: Willie, Billy, Liam, Bill, Wilma, Billie, Willow, Willis
Explore William interactively →By the decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 84,881 | No. 2 |
| 1890s | 72,244 | No. 2 |
| 1900s | 69,320 | No. 2 |
| 1910s | 303,017 | No. 2 |
| 1920s | 512,402 | No. 2 |
| 1930s | 416,730 | No. 4 |
| 1940s | 556,478 | No. 4 |
| 1950s | 591,228 | No. 6 |
| 1960s | 421,433 | No. 6 |
| 1970s | 283,401 | No. 7 |
| 1980s | 248,277 | No. 14 |
| 1990s | 217,822 | No. 14 |
| 2000s | 194,415 | No. 5 |
| 2010s | 159,981 | No. 3 |
| 2020s | 68,067 | No. 5 |
Births and rank shown for boys, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.
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Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.