Old German wil and helm, "will helmet" — resolute protector. Brought to England by the Conqueror in 1066 and never out of use since.
William ranks 9th among American boys in 2025, with 10,552 born that year. Its best year was 1947, when 67,156 babies were given the name, ranking 4th. The typical living American called William is about 62 years old today. It is relatively most common in Wyoming, where it accounts for 1.26% of births.
Source: US Social Security Administration, national and state name files, 2025 release, and the Office for National Statistics for England and Wales. Etymology researched and written by our editors. Living-population and median-age figures are our own estimates, described in the methodology.