William

maleGermanic (Old Frankish/Old High German Willehelm)

Commonly interpreted as 'resolute protector' or 'will helmet', combining the ideas of desire/will and protection.

Origin: Germanic (Old Frankish/Old High German Willehelm)

Official popularity data is available for 7 regions, from 1945 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #1 in Norway in 2016. See regions.

William: Recorded every year since 1945, it reached #1 in 2009, and it was still inside the top 100 in 2025.

7registrars recorded it
347times a registrar ranked it
81years from first to last
#1highest recorded position
50groupings it qualifies for
92names it appears alongside

What stands out in William's record

Ranked inside the top 10 by 5 registrars, and #1 in 2 of them. Names by top-10 reach
Ranked every year since 1945, without a single year missing. Names by continuity of record
Held a top-100 place for 74 years running. Names by top-100 run
England and Wales registered 5,287 births with the name in 1999, its largest count from any one registrar. Names by yearly birth count

WIL-yəm/ˈwɪljəm/

Compare William Run Name Checker on William

Data Confidence

Evidence: ModerateCompleteness: SubstantialEditorial review: 2026-07-21

Confidence in the evidencebehind this name's data — never a rating of the name itself, and never affected by how well it matches your preferences. How this is assessed

Because: backed by officially or academically authoritative sources, recently verified, popularity data covers multiple regions.

Source authority

Averaged from the real per-claim source-authority assessments already computed for this name's meaning/origin/pronunciation/popularity evidence.

Independent corroboration

Averaged from the real per-claim supporting-source counts already computed for this name's evidence.

See full evidence assessment (8 dimensions, 1 not yet tracked)

Source agreement

No recorded source disagreement for this name's meanings or origins.

Recency

Calculated from how long ago this record was last verified (2026-07-21), against a 270-day staleness threshold.

Geographic relevance

Calculated from the number of geographies with official popularity data (7) — broader official coverage means the evidence base is relevant to more of where the name is actually used.

Completeness

Calculated from how many of the expected data sections (variants, similar names, popularity, notable usage, IPA pronunciation) are actually populated for this name.

Direct observation vs. inference

Averaged from the real per-claim direct-observation-vs-inference ratios already computed for this name's evidence.

Identity & variant resolution quality

Cross-source identity and variant resolution requires HEKNO Knowledge, which isn't connected yet.

Name Characteristics

How these are calculated

Descriptive attributes of the name itself — not a confidence measurement, and not an overall quality score. Namewise doesn't approve or disapprove of names.

Pronunciation clarity

Editorial judgement of how consistently this name is pronounced correctly on first read, mapped from an easy/moderate/variable rating to a number. Describes the name — not a measure of evidence confidence.

Spelling simplicity

Calculated directly from the name's spelling: shorter names with fewer irregular letter clusters score higher. A disclosed formula, not an editorial opinion — and not a confidence measurement.

Recorded regional spread

Derived from how many geographies' official statistics record this name. It measures where the name is registered, not how well-known it feels to people living there.

International spread

Derived from the same official statistical coverage, scaled to reflect how widely the name crosses national datasets. Not a measure of how easily it is understood in another language.

Trend stability

Derived from the name's traditional/modern classification and its current popularity trend direction.

Overview

Origin: Germanic (Old Frankish/Old High German Willehelm)
Meaning: Commonly interpreted as 'resolute protector' or 'will helmet', combining the ideas of desire/will and protection.
Pronunciation: WIL-yəm
Syllables: 2
Common nicknames: None recorded
Classification: Traditional & modern
Gender usage: male
Language family: Germanic (Old Frankish/Old High German Willehelm)

Popularity

Region

Trend unknown

among girls in England and Wales · 2016

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
2016	#5785

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

Trend unknownEngland and Wales · Girls

Recorded in official data among boys in Norway in every year from 1945 to 2025.

In 2025: #3 among boys in Norway, #11 among boys in New South Wales, Australia, #25 among boys in England and Wales, #73 among boys in Republic of Ireland.

Official data from 7 national registrars across 7 regions, 1945–2025 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1945
First recorded at #277 among boys in Norway in 1945 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Boys
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #25 among boys in England and Wales, in 2025.
England and Wales · Boys

William appears in 6 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Norway · Boys, which has ranked it in 81 years beginning in 1945, and has registered 10,673 births with the name.

William across 6 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

William's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
Norway · Boys	#277 (1945)	#1 (2012)	#3 (2025)	81 of 81	10,673 (1945–2025)	523 (2016)
New South Wales, Australia · Boys	#12 (1952)	#1 (2009)	#11 (2025)	74 of 74	32,212 (1952–2025)	763 (2007)
New Zealand · Boys	#11 (1954)	#3 (2008)	#14 (2023)	70 of 70	19,408 (1954–2023)	442 (1954)
Republic of Ireland · Boys	#8 (1964)	#8 (1964)	#73 (2025)	62 of 62	20,896 (1964–2025)	1,000 (1965)
England and Wales · Boys	#21 (1996)	#7 (2006)	#25 (2025)	30 of 30	119,438 (1996–2025)	5,287 (1999)
Northern Ireland · Boys	#26 (1997)	#26 (1997)	#64 (2024)	28 of 28	2,115 (1997–2024)	131 (1997)

Where the highest position is not the biggest year

Inside a single year a registrar's ranking is its birth counts put in order, so the top of a list is always the name given to the most babies that year. Across years the two separate, because the number of births and the number of names sharing them both change.

In New Zealand · Boys the name reached its highest position, #3, in 2008, when 352 births were registered with it. More were registered in 1954 — 442 — in a year it ranked #11.

William by decade in Norway · Boys

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with William in Norway · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1940s	77	5 of 10	15
1950s	125	10 of 10	13
1960s	141	10 of 10	14
1970s	147	10 of 10	15
1980s	348	10 of 10	35
1990s	944	10 of 10	94
2000s	2,710	10 of 10	271
2010sbusiest	4,171	10 of 10	417
2020s	2,010	6 of 10	335

Across Norway · Boys, the 2010s were its busiest decade, averaging 417 births a year.

Its sharpest single-year move came between 2016 and 2017, when recorded births fell by 158, from 523 to 365.

See the names Norwayhas recorded the most births with →

William appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

What the record shows

Recorded by 7 registrars between 1945 and 2025, ranked in 81 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #1, first reached in 2009.

It held a top-100 place in 74 years, 74 of them consecutive.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 5,287 births, registered in England and Wales in 1999.

5 registrars ranked it inside their own top 10. It reached #1 in 2 registrars' lists.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1952, and 79 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

William was ranked #1 in New South Wales, Australia · Boys in 2009. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Willa · #638, 28y
Willem · #694, 30y
Willie · #304, 15y
Willis · #1152, 29y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 7 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Anne · #1, 81y
Daniel · #1, 81y
David · #1, 81y
Ella · #1, 77y

Also first recorded in the 1940s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1940 and 1949.

Andreas · #1, 81y
Anne · #1, 81y
Charlotte · #1, 73y
Christine · #1, 81y

Comparisons involving William

Existing comparison pages where William and another name were ranked in the same published list, in the same years, on the same scale. Each has its own evidence; none of them says the names are alike.

Longest shared records

Names ranked alongside William in the same published list across at least 25 years.

William vs Ross
In 1997 they stood at #26 and #30 in Northern Ireland · Boys, 4 places apart; by 2023 they were #58 and #395.
William · Ross · 27 shared years, 1997–2023 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2023 Northern Ireland ranking
William vs Brendan
In 1964 they stood at #8 and #17 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, 9 places apart; by 2025 they were #73 and #402.
William · Brendan · 62 shared years, 1964–2025 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2025 Republic of Ireland ranking
William vs Bradley
In 1996 they stood at #21 and #31 in England and Wales · Boys, 10 places apart; by 2025 they were #25 and #352.
William · Bradley · 30 shared years, 1996–2025 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2025 England and Wales ranking

Closest long-running positions

Names that stayed close to William within one registrar's list over many years. A gap measured inside that list, never across registrars.

William vs Thomas
Across 30 shared years in England and Wales · Boys, William and Thomas averaged 5.9 places apart, ending at #25 and #35.
William · Thomas · 30 shared years, 1996–2025 · Closest over the longest run
See the 2025 England and Wales ranking
James vs William
Across 30 shared years in England and Wales · Boys, James and William averaged 6.0 places apart, ending at #42 and #25.
James · William · 30 shared years, 1996–2025 · Closest over the longest run
See the 2025 England and Wales ranking
William vs Harry
Across 30 shared years in England and Wales · Boys, William and Harry averaged 6.1 places apart, ending at #25 and #19.
William · Harry · 30 shared years, 1996–2025 · Closest over the longest run
See the 2025 England and Wales ranking

Order changes

Pairs where William and another name exchanged position in a published list, taken as the final meaningful change.

William vs Jack
In 2012, Jack moved ahead of William in New Zealand · Boys — #5 and #10 the year before became #3 and #1.
William · Jack · 36 shared years, 1988–2023 · One moved ahead of the other
See the 2012 New Zealand ranking
William vs Jonas
In 2012, William moved ahead of Jonas in Norway · Boys — #5 and #3 the year before became #1 and #3.
William · Jonas · 77 shared years, 1945–2025 · One moved ahead of the other
See the 2012 Norway ranking
William vs Magnus
In 2012, William moved ahead of Magnus in Norway · Boys — #5 and #4 the year before became #1 and #4.
William · Magnus · 81 shared years, 1945–2025 · One moved ahead of the other
See the 2012 Norway ranking

Compared inside New South Wales, Australia lists

Pairs involving William measured in New South Wales, Australia's own published lists — the registrar that recorded William at its highest position.

William vs Cooper
Both reached their highest recorded position in New South Wales, Australia · Boys within 2 years — William #1 in 2009, Cooper #4 in 2009.
William · Cooper · 28 shared years, 1998–2025 · Peaked in the same years
See the 2009 New South Wales, Australia ranking
William vs Ethan
Both reached their highest recorded position in New South Wales, Australia · Boys within 2 years — William #1 in 2009, Ethan #4 in 2011.
William · Ethan · 35 shared years, 1991–2025 · Peaked in the same years
See the 2011 New South Wales, Australia ranking
William vs Hamish
Both reached their highest recorded position in New South Wales, Australia · Boys within 2 years — William #1 in 2009, Hamish #60 in 2010.
William · Hamish · 22 shared years, 1997–2022 · Peaked in the same years
See the 2010 New South Wales, Australia ranking

New South Wales, Australia overview→

William and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,577 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed William without appearing here.

William moved ahead of

Arthur Compare
In 1979 they stood at #372 and #348 in Norway · Boys; by 1980 that had become #233 and #491.
Gustav Compare
In 1979 they stood at #372 and #289 in Norway · Boys; by 1980 that had become #233 and #462.
Oscar
In 1979 they stood at #372 and #344 in Norway · Boys; by 1980 that had become #233 and #440.
Oskar Compare
In 1967 they stood at #353 and #345 in Norway · Boys; by 1968 that had become #292 and #444.

Moved ahead of William

Luke
In 2019 they stood at #53 and #63 in Northern Ireland · Boys; by 2020 that had become #68 and #27.
Lucas Compare
In 2023 they stood at #58 and #61 in Northern Ireland · Boys; by 2024 that had become #64 and #30.
Ezra
In 2021 they stood at #61 and #63 in Northern Ireland · Boys; by 2022 that had become #67 and #35.
Joseph Compare
In 2023 they stood at #58 and #76 in Northern Ireland · Boys; by 2024 that had become #64 and #34.

Moved the opposite way to William

Anders Compare
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, William went from #277 to #3 while Anders went from #55 to #293.
Arild
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, William went from #277 to #3 while Arild went from #32 to #489.
Arne Compare
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, William went from #277 to #3 while Arne went from #6 to #222.
Bjørn Compare
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, William went from #277 to #3 while Bjørn went from #3 to #56.

Moved the same way as William

Aksel Compare
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, William went from #277 to #3 and Aksel from #174 to #25.
Alfred
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, William went from #277 to #3 and Alfred from #127 to #26.
Arthur Compare
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, William went from #277 to #3 and Arthur from #153 to #83.
Elias
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, William went from #277 to #3 and Elias from #328 to #4.

Meaning & Origin

Commonly interpreted as 'resolute protector' or 'will helmet', combining the ideas of desire/will and protection.

VerifiedSource: Behind the Name.Confidence: medium.

Germanic (Old Frankish/Old High German Willehelm)

VerifiedSource: Behind the Name.Confidence: medium.

Other names with a researched meaning and origin →

Where William is officially recorded

7 official registrars have recorded William, between 1945 and 2025. Each registrar publishes for its own population on its own methodology, so the positions below are each one country's own ranking and are not comparable with one another.

Registrar	Recorded	Years	Its own highest position
Norway	1945–2025	81	#1 in 2012
New South Wales, Australia	1952–2025	74	#1 in 2009
New Zealand	1954–2023	70	#3 in 2008
Republic of Ireland	1964–2025	62	#8 in 1964
England and Wales	1996–2025	30	#7 in 2006
Northern Ireland	1997–2024	28	#26 in 1997
Scotland	2024	1	#66 in 2024

Its high point came 60 years earlier in Republic of Ireland (1964) than in Scotland (2024).

Variants

No spelling variants or nicknames recorded yet.

Similar Names

No similar names recorded yet for this name.

Similarity is a demonstration score — see methodology.

Spelling

Spelling simplicity

Calculated directly from the name's spelling — see Name Characteristics above.

No commonly used alternate spellings recorded.

Pronunciation

WIL-yəm/ˈwɪljəm/

Syllables: 2
Ease: easy

VerifiedSource: Behind the Name.Confidence: medium.

Where William Is Recorded

National statistical agencies have recorded William in these places. This shows where the name is used — not where it comes from, and not that it carries particular cultural significance there.

New South Wales, AustraliaEngland and WalesNorthern IrelandScotlandRepublic of IrelandNorwayNew Zealand

Notable Usage

No safely-sourced notable usage recorded for this name yet.

Sibling & Surname Compatibility

Preview with a surname

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William

William at a glance

What stands out in William's record

Overview

Popularity

What the data shows

Popularity journey

William across 6 official records

Where the highest position is not the biggest year

William by decade in Norway · Boys

William appears in

What the record shows

Names published alongside William

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1940s

Comparisons involving William

Longest shared records

Closest long-running positions

Order changes

Compared inside New South Wales, Australia lists

William and the names beside it

William moved ahead of

Moved ahead of William

Moved the opposite way to William

Moved the same way as William

Meaning & Origin

Where William is officially recorded

Variants

Similar Names

Spelling

Pronunciation

Where William Is Recorded

Notable Usage

Sibling & Surname Compatibility

William at a glance

What stands out in William's record

William across 6 official records

Where the highest position is not the biggest year

William by decade in Norway · Boys

William appears in

What the record shows

Names published alongside William

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1940s

Comparisons involving William

Longest shared records

Closest long-running positions

Order changes

Compared inside New South Wales, Australia lists

William and the names beside it

William moved ahead of

Moved ahead of William

Moved the opposite way to William

Moved the same way as William