William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 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 ...

after the Norman conquest of England 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, Wills, Willy, Willie, Bill, and Billy. A common

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

form is Liam. Scottish diminutives include Wull, Willie or Wullie (as in Oor Wullie or the play ''Douglas''). Female forms are Willa, Willemina, Wilma and Wilhelmina.

Etymology

William is related to the given name ''Wilhelm'' (cf. Proto-Germanic ᚹᛁᛚᛃᚨᚺᛖᛚᛗᚨᛉ, ''*Wiljahelmaz'' > German ''

Wilhelm Wilhelm may refer to: People and fictional characters * William Charles John Pitcher, costume designer known professionally as "Wilhelm" * Wilhelm (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname Other uses * Mount ...

'' and

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...

ᚢᛁᛚᛋᛅᚼᛅᛚᛘᛅᛋ, ''Vilhjálmr''). By regular sound changes, the native, inherited English form of the name should be ''*Wilhelm'' as well (although the name is not actually attested in the history of English, and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle refers to William the Conqueror as ''Willelm''). That is a

compound Compound may refer to: Architecture and built environments * Compound (enclosure), a cluster of buildings having a shared purpose, usually inside a fence or wall ** Compound (fortification), a version of the above fortified with defensive struc ...

of two distinct elements: ''wil'' = "will or desire"; ''helm''; Old English ''helm'' "helmet, protection"; English ''helm'' "knight's large helmet". The form ''William'' is identified as typical of the

Old Norman Old Norman, also called Old Northern French or Old Norman French ( fro, Ancien Normant, nrf, Ancien Normaund), was one of many varieties of the ''langues d'oïl'' native to northern France. It was spoken throughout the region of what is now calle ...

form ''Williame, Willame'', because first, the English language should have retained ''(h)elm'' (see common words ''helm, helmet'', in French '' heaume''), second, ''-iaume'' aʷm(typical of Popular French, see Guillaume) turned to ''-iame'' am(typical of some Norman and Picard dialects) > English ''-iam''. Historically, there was first a

triphthong In phonetics, a triphthong (, ) (from Greek τρίφθογγος, "triphthongos", literally "with three sounds," or "with three tones") is a monosyllabic vowel combination involving a quick but smooth movement of the articulator from one vowel q ...

ation of ''-elm'' (early Gallo-Romance form WILLELMU) into aʷ+ in Old Norman-French, quite similar in Old Central French aʷ+ Then, the

''-iau'' was submitted to a monophthongation localized on the second part of the triphthong áu > āò > ā. For instance, this development can be followed in the different versions of the name in the Wace's '' Roman de Rou''. or in the Cauchois variant forms of common words such as ''osias'' (plural of ''osè'' "bird", older ''oisel'') / Regular Norman ''oisiaus'' "birds" (French sing. ''oiseau'', pl. ''oiseaux''). The spelling and phonetics ''Wi-'' iis a characteristic trait of the Northern French dialects, but the pronunciation changed in Norman from ito iin the 12th century (cf. the Norman surnames '' Villon'' and ''Villamaux'' "little William"), unlike the Central French and Southern Norman that turned the Germanic ''Wi-'' into ''Gui-'' wi> i The Modern French spelling is . The first well-known carrier of the name was Charlemagne's cousin

William of Gellone William of Gellone ( 755 – 28 May 812 or 814), the medieval William of Orange, was the second Duke of Toulouse from 790 until 811. In 804, he founded the abbey of Gellone. He was canonized a saint in 1066 by Pope Alexander II.

, a.k.a. Guilhem, William of Orange, Guillaume Fierabrace, or William Short-Nose (755–812). This William is immortalized in the Chanson de Guillaume and his esteem may account for the name's subsequent popularity among European nobility.

English history

The English "William" is taken from the Anglo-Norman language 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 English cognate was Hrēodbeorht, which by regular sound changes would have developed into something along the lines of "Reedbart"), Richard, Roger (the English cognate was

Hroðgar Hrothgar ( ang, Hrōðgār ; on, Hróarr) was a semi-legendary Danish king living around the early sixth century AD. Hrothgar appears in the Anglo-Saxon epics ''Beowulf'' and ''Widsith'', in Norse sagas and poems, and in medieval Danish chroni ...

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

(all of Germanic origin and may have been transmitted through the Normans' use of Old French). 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) *Wilhelm ( German, Polish,

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 (

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

, Frisian, Low German) *Willem, Wilhelm ( Afrikaans) * Wiremu ( 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 settlers in the mid-5th c ...

) *Williama ( Hawaiian) *Wellëm ( Luxembourgish) *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) *Vĩnh Liêm, Vĩnh Lâm (

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

) *Billem ( Toba Batak) *Cuglierme ( Neapolitan) *Golem, Gulielm, Ylli, Ylmer ( Albanian) *Gilen, Guilen (

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

) *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 Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

) *Guillaume ( French) *Guildhelm ( Old Dutch) *Guilhem ( Occitan) *Guillem, Guim ( Catalan) *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 A ...

(

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

) *

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 Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

) *Guillerme ( Galician) *Gwilym ( Welsh) *Gwilherm ( Breton) *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 (

) * Liam (

) *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 (

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 ...

) *وِلْيَم – William (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a 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. E.Watson; Walter ...

) *Уилиам – 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 ve ...

) *Villem, Villu ( Estonian) *Вильгельм, Уильям – Vil'gel'm, Uil'yam (

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

) *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) * Villem – Estonian * Vilhelm (

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 a ...

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

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, tradition ...

) *Vilhelmo ( Esperanto) *

Vilhelms Vilhelms is a Latvian masculine given name, cognate of the English name William. The diminutive form of Vilhelms is Vilis. People bearing the name Vilhelms include: * Vilhelms Bokslafs (1858–1945), Baltic German-Latvian architect * Vilhelms K ...

( Latvian) *Viliam ( Slovak) *Viljem ( Slovene) *ויליאם – /ˈviljam/ (older propronunciation), /ˈwiljam/ (contemporary) (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

) *Vilim ( Croatian) *Вилим ( Serbian) *Vilém (

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

) *Vilmos ( Hungarian) *Viljams, Vilhelms, Vilis ( Latvian) *Vilius, Viliumas, Vilhelmas ( Lithuanian) *Viljami, Ville, Vilho, Viljo (

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

) *Vilhjálmur ( Icelandic) *Vilhjálmur, Viljormur ( Faroese) *Vilhjálmr (

) *Vilko ( Croatian) *Vilyam, Vilyım ( Turkish) *Vėljams ( Samogitian) *Γουλιέλμος (Wouliélmos) (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

) *ܘܠܝܡ (Wil-yam) (

Assyrian Assyrian may refer to: * Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia. * Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire. ** Early Assyrian Period ** Old Assyrian Period ** Middle Assyrian Empire ** Neo-Assyrian Empire * Assyrian ...

) *Գուլիելմոս (Goulielmós) (

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

)

People named William

References

{{Authority control English-language masculine given names English masculine given names