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Baby name

William

Boy

Origin of the name

William is a Germanic name made of will, “will, desire,” and helm, “helmet, protection.” It is the English form of the French Guillaume, and William the Conqueror brought it to England in 1066.

Classic name

19471880190019251950197520002025
1947 was its best year: 67,002 births, or 1 baby in 54. A lasting presence, with births recorded in 146 years out of 146. In 2025, it ranked No. 9.
4,199,696births since 1880
1940sgeneration
No. 4rank at its peak, in 1947

Where babies named William are born

1947

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The darker the blue, the more common William is in the state, compared with its births. White: no births published that year.

Where it is most popular

Compared with the national average, William is most common in Delaware (1.7 times), District of Columbia (1.6) and Kentucky (1.5), taking into account all births in each state since 1910.

One letter apart

Names from the same era

Robert · John · James · Charles · Richard · Ronald

Born in…

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