William is a
masculine
Masculinity (also called manhood or manliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as socially constructed, and there is also evidence that some behaviors con ...
given name
A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...
of
Norman French
Norman or Norman French (, french: Normand, Guernésiais: , Jèrriais: ) is a Romance language which can be classified as one of the Oïl languages along with French, Picard and Walloon. The name "Norman French" is sometimes used to descri ...
origin.
[Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', ]Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the
English language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...
after the
Norman conquest of England
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, Duchy of Brittany, Breton, County of Flanders, Flemish, and Kingdom of France, French troops, ...
in 1066,
[All Things William]
"Meaning & Origin of the Name"
/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is sometimes abbreviated "Wm." Shortened familiar versions in English include Will
Will may refer to:
Common meanings
* Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death
* Will (philosophy), or willpower
* Will (sociology)
* Will, volition (psychology)
* Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will
...
, Wills Wills may refer to:
* Will (law)
A will or testament is a legal document that expresses a person's (testator) wishes as to how their property ( estate) is to be distributed after their death and as to which person (executor) is to manage the pr ...
, Willy
Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to:
People Given name or nickname
* Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and scree ...
, Willie
Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to:
People Given name or nickname
* Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and scree ...
, Liam
Liam is a short form of the Irish name Uilliam or the old Germanic name William.
Etymology
The original name was a merging of two Old German elements: ''willa'' ("will" or "resolution"); and ''helma'' ("helmet"). The juxtaposition of these elem ...
, Bill
Bill(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
* Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States)
* Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature
* Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer
* Bill, a bird or animal's beak
Plac ...
, and Billy
Billy may refer to:
* Billy (name), a name (and list of people with the name)
Animals
* Billy (dog), a dog breed
* Billy (pigeon), awarded the Dickin Medal in 1945
* Billy (pygmy hippo), a pet of U.S. President Calvin Coolidge
* Billy, a youn ...
. A common Irish form is Liam
Liam is a short form of the Irish name Uilliam or the old Germanic name William.
Etymology
The original name was a merging of two Old German elements: ''willa'' ("will" or "resolution"); and ''helma'' ("helmet"). The juxtaposition of these elem ...
. Scottish
Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:
*Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland
*Scottish English
*Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
diminutives
A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A (abbreviated ) is a word-formati ...
include Wull, Willie
Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to:
People Given name or nickname
* Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and scree ...
or Wullie (as in Oor Wullie
''Oor Wullie'' ( en, Our Willie) is a Scottish comic strip published in the D.C. Thomson newspaper ''The Sunday Post''. It features a character called Wullie; Wullie is the familiar Scots nickname for boys named William, equivalent to Willie. ...
or the play ''Douglas''). Female forms are Willa Willa is a feminine given name. Notable people and characters with the name include:
* Willa or Guilla of Provence (died before 924), early medieval Frankish queen
* Willa of Tuscany (died 970), queen consort of Berengar II of Italy
* Willa Brown ( ...
, Willemina Willemina is a Dutch feminine given name similar to Wilhelmina. Bearers often use a short form in daily life, including ''Ineke'', ''Mien'', ''Miep'', ''Wil'', ''Will'', ''Willeke'', ''Willy'', and ''Wilma''. People with the name include:
* Wille ...
, Wilma and Wilhelmina.
Etymology
William is related to the German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
given name ''Wilhelm''. Both ultimately descend from Proto-Germanic
Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages.
Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic branc ...
''*Wiljahelmaz'', with a direct cognate also in the Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...
name ''Vilhjalmr'' and a West Germanic borrowing into Medieval Latin ''Willelmus''. The Proto-Germanic name is a compound of *''wiljô'' "will, wish, desire" and *''helmaz'' "helm, helmet".
By regular sound change, Proto-Germanic *''Wiljahelmaz'' should have also descended into English as *''Wilhelm'', but this latter form is unattested in written English of any period; the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alf ...
refers to William the Conqueror
William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...
as ''Willelm'', a back-formation from the Medieval Latin variant. The form ''William'' is a back-borrowing from Old Norman ''Williame'', a specifically northern Norman reflex of Medieval Latin ''Willelmus'' (compare the Central French cognate ''Guillaume''). The development of the name's northern Norman form can be traced in the different versions of the name appearing in Wace
Wace ( 1110 – after 1174), sometimes referred to as Robert Wace, was a Medieval Norman poet, who was born in Jersey and brought up in mainland Normandy (he tells us in the ''Roman de Rou'' that he was taken as a child to Caen), ending his care ...
's ''Roman de Rou
''Roman de Rou'' is a verse chronicle by Wace in Norman covering the history of the Dukes of Normandy from the time of Rollo of Normandy to the battle of Tinchebray in 1106. It is a national epic of Normandy.
Following the success of his ''Roma ...
''.
The first well-known bearer of the name was Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...
's cousin William of Gellone (755–812). This William is immortalized in the Chanson de Guillaume, and the esteem in which he was held may account for the name's subsequent popularity among European nobility.
English history
The English "William" is taken from the Anglo-Norman language
Anglo-Norman, also known as Anglo-Norman French ( nrf, Anglo-Normaund) ( French: ), was a dialect of Old Norman French that was used in England and, to a lesser extent, elsewhere in Great Britain and Ireland during the Anglo-Norman period.
When ...
and was transmitted to England after the Norman conquest in the 11th century, and soon became the most popular name in England, along with other Norman names such as Robert
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
(the English cognate was Hrēodbeorht, which by regular sound changes would have developed into something along the lines of "Reedbart"), Richard
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...
, Roger
Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...
(the English cognate was Hroðgar), Henry (all of Germanic origin and may have been transmitted through the Normans' use of Old French
Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligib ...
).
The name Wilkin/Wilkins is also of medieval origin, taken from the shortened version of William (Will) with the suffix "kin" added.
Variants
*Wilem, Awilemam ( Koromfe)
*Weelum ( Scots)
*Willum ( Scots)
*Viliamu ( Samoan)
*Viliami ( Tongan)
*Whiriyamu ( Karanga)
*Whiliyamu (Ndebele
Ndebele may refer to:
*Southern Ndebele people, located in South Africa
*Northern Ndebele people, located in Zimbabwe and Botswana
Languages
*Southern Ndebele language, the language of the South Ndebele
*Northern Ndebele language, the language o ...
)
*Wilhelm (German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
, Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
, Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
)
*Willem, Wilhelmus, Wim ( Dutch, Frisian, Low German
:
:
:
:
:
(70,000)
(30,000)
(8,000)
, familycolor = Indo-European
, fam2 = Germanic
, fam3 = West Germanic
, fam4 = North Sea Germanic
, ancestor = Old Saxon
, ancestor2 = Middle L ...
)
*Willem, Wilhelm (Afrikaans
Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...
)
*Wiremu Wiremu is a masculine given name, the Māori form of William. Notable people with the name include:
People with given name Wiremu
* Aaron Wiremu Cruden (born 1989), New Zealand rugby union player
* Wiremu Doherty, New Zealand Māori educationalis ...
( Maori)
*Willelm (Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
)
*Williama ( Hawaiian)
*Wëllem (Luxembourgish
Luxembourgish ( ; also ''Luxemburgish'', ''Luxembourgian'', ''Letzebu(e)rgesch''; Luxembourgish: ) is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 400,000 people speak Luxembourgish worldwide.
As a standard form of th ...
)
*Walaam (Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
)
*Wiliyom, Wiliyem (Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
)
*Vĩnh Liêm, Vĩnh Lâm ( Vietnamese)
*Billem ( Toba Batak)
*Cuglierme, Gugliemo (Neapolitan
Neapolitan means of or pertaining to Naples, a city in Italy; or to:
Geography and history
* Province of Naples, a province in the Campania region of southern Italy that includes the city
* Duchy of Naples, in existence during the Early and Hig ...
)
*Golem, Gulielm, Ylli, Ylmer (Albanian
Albanian may refer to:
*Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular:
**Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans
**Albanian language
**Albanian culture
**Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
)
*Gilen, Guilen ( Basque)
*Gulielmus, Vilhelmus, Willelmus, Gullelmus, Gullielmus, Villelmus (Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
)
*Guglielmo ( Italian)
*Guillaume (French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
)
*Guildhelm (Old Dutch
In linguistics, Old Dutch (Dutch: Oudnederlands) or Old Low Franconian (Dutch: Oudnederfrankisch) is the set of Franconian dialects (i.e. dialects that evolved from Frankish) spoken in the Low Countries during the Early Middle Ages, from aroun ...
)
*Guilhèm, Guilhem, Guilherme, Guilhèume, Guilhaume, Glhaume (Occitan Occitan may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain.
* Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France.
* Occitan language
Occitan (; o ...
)
*Guillem, Guim (Catalan
Catalan may refer to:
Catalonia
From, or related to Catalonia:
* Catalan language, a Romance language
* Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia
Places
* 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...
)
*Guillén ( Aragonese)
*Guillermo
Guillermo () is the Spanish form of the male given name William. The name is also commonly shortened to 'Guille' or, in Latin America, to nickname 'Memo'. People
*Guillermo Amor (born 1967), Spanish football manager and former player
*Guillermo Ar ...
( Spanish)
*Guilherme
Guilherme is a Portuguese given name, equivalent to William in English. The feminine form of this name is Guilhermina. Diminutive forms include Guilhermino. Vilma (Portuguese form of Wilma) is another female variant of the name.
Brazilian foot ...
( Portuguese)
*Guillerme ( Galician)
*Gwilym (Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
)
*Gwilherm (Breton
Breton most often refers to:
*anything associated with Brittany, and generally
** Breton people
** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany
** Breton (horse), a breed
**Ga ...
)
*Gugghiermu ( Sicilian)
*Gllâome (Modern Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
)
*Uilliam ( Irish)
*Liam
Liam is a short form of the Irish name Uilliam or the old Germanic name William.
Etymology
The original name was a merging of two Old German elements: ''willa'' ("will" or "resolution"); and ''helma'' ("helmet"). The juxtaposition of these elem ...
( Irish)
*Illiam (Manx Gaelic
Manx ( or , pronounced or ), also known as Manx Gaelic, is a Gaelic language of the insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, itself a branch of the Indo-European language family. Manx is the historical language of the Manx peo ...
)
*Uilleam
Uilleam is a masculine given name in the Scottish Gaelic language. It is the equivalent of the name ''William'' in English.
List of people with the given name
*Uilleam, Earl of Mar
* Uilleam I, Earl of Ross
*Uilleam II, Earl of Ross
William II ...
(Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...
)
*وِلْيَم – William (Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
)
*Уилям – Uiliam (Bulgarian
Bulgarian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria
* Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group
* Bulgarian language, a Slavic language
* Bulgarian alphabet
* A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria
* Bul ...
)
*װֶעלװֶעל – /ˈvelvel/ (Yiddish
Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...
)
*Villem, Villu (Estonian
Estonian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe
* Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent
* Estonian language
* Estonian cuisine
* Estonian culture
See also ...
)
*Уильям – Uilyam ( Russian)
*Вільгельм, Вільям – Vil'hel'm, Vil'yam (Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
)
*Уільям, Вільям – Uiĺjam, Viĺjam (Belarusian
Belarusian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to Belarus
* Belarusians, people from Belarus, or of Belarusian descent
* A citizen of Belarus, see Demographics of Belarus
* Belarusian language
* Belarusian culture
* Belarusian cuisine
* Byelor ...
)
*Vilhelm Vilhelm is a masculine given name, the Scandinavian form of William and Wilhelm. Notable people with the name include:
* Vilhelm Ahlmann (1852-1928), Danish-Swedish architect
* Vilhelm Andersen (1864–1953), Danish author, literary historian and ...
(Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...
, Norwegian, Romanian
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
**Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
**Romanian cuisine, traditional ...
, Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
)
*Vilhelmo (Esperanto
Esperanto ( or ) is the world's most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Created by the Warsaw-based ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof in 1887, it was intended to be a universal second language for international communi ...
)
*Vilhelms (Latvian language, Latvian)
*Viliam (Slovak language, Slovak)
*Viljem (Slovene language, Slovene)
*ויליאם – /ˈviljam/ (older pronunciation), /ˈwiljam/ (contemporary) (Hebrew)
*Vilim (Croatian language, Croatian)
*Вилим (Serbian language, Serbian)
*Vilém (Czech language, Czech)
*Vilmos (Hungarian language, Hungarian)
*Viljams, Vilhelms, Vilis (Latvian language, Latvian)
*Vilius, Viliumas, Vilhelmas (Lithuanian language, Lithuanian)
*Viljami, Ville, Vilho, Viljo (Finnish language, Finnish)
*Vilhjálmur (Icelandic language, Icelandic)
*Vilhjálmur, Viljormur (Faroese language, Faroese)
*Vilhjalmr (Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...
)
*Vilko (Croatian language, Croatian)
*Vilyam, Vilyım (Turkish language, Turkish)
*Vėljams (Samogitian dialect, Samogitian)
*Γουλιέλμος (Gouliélmos) (Greek language, Greek)
*ܘܠܝܡ (Wil-yam) (Assyrian Neo-Aramaic, Assyrian)
*Գուլիելմոս (Goulielmós) (Armenian language, Armenian)
People named William
See also
*
*Williams (surname)
*Bill (disambiguation)
*Billy (disambiguation)
*King William (disambiguation)
*Prince William (disambiguation)
*Saint William (disambiguation)
*Wilhelm (disambiguation)
References
{{Authority control
English-language masculine given names
English masculine given names
Masculine given names