Will or Wil is a given name, often a short form (

hypocorism A hypocorism ( or ; from Ancient Greek: (), from (), 'to call by pet names', sometimes also ''hypocoristic'') or pet name is a name used to show affection for a person. It may be a diminutive form of a person's name, such as '' Izzy'' fo ...

) of

William 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 after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, Wilfred,

Wilbur Wilbur may refer to: Places in the United States * Wilbur, Indiana, an unincorporated town * Wilbur, Trenton, New Jersey, a neighborhood in the city of Trenton * Wilbur, Oregon, an unincorporated community * Wilbur, Washington, a small farming ...

, Wilhelmina, Wilma, Willard or

Willeke Willeke is a Dutch feminine given name and also a surname. The given name may be abbreviated as Wil. People with that name include: * Willeke Alberti (born 1945), Dutch singer and actress * Willeke Knol (born 1991), Dutch racing cyclist * Willeke ...

. It may refer to:

Men

Will Alsop William Allen Alsop (12 December 1947 – 12 May 2018) was a British architect and Professor of Architecture at University for the Creative Arts's Canterbury School of Architecture. He was responsible for several distinctive and controversia ...

(1947–2018), British architect * Will Anderson (disambiguation), multiple people *

Will Arnett William Emerson Arnett (; born May 4, 1970) is a Canadian actor, comedian and producer. He is best known for his roles as Gob Bluth in the Fox/Netflix series '' Arrested Development'' (2003–2006, 2013, 2018–2019) and as the titular char ...

(born 1970), Canadian-American actor, voice actor and comedian * Will Bagley (1950-2021), American historian *

Will Barclay William Anson Barclay (born January 5, 1969) is an American politician and attorney from the State of New York. A Republican, he has served in the New York State Assembly since 2003. In January 2020, Barclay was elected to the position of Assembly ...

(born 1969), American politician * Will Barnet (1911–2012), American artist * Wil Boessen (born 1964), Dutch football manager and former player *

Will Brownsberger William N. Brownsberger (born March 21, 1957) is an American politician and the President pro tempore of the Massachusetts Senate representing the Second Suffolk and Middlesex District which includes his hometown of Belmont, as well as Waterto ...

(born 1957), American politician *

Will Bynum William Bynum (born January 4, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the University of Arizona and Georgia Tech before going undrafted in the 2005 NBA draft. He was the 2007 Israeli Basketbal ...

(born 1983), American basketball player *

Wil Calhoun Wil Calhoun is an American television producer and writer. He is best known for his work on the sitcom ''Friends'' for which he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy in 1999. In 2002, Calhoun along with Dan Schneider created the series '' What I L ...

, American television producer and writer *

Will Chase Frank William Chase (born September 12, 1970) is a Tony Award-nominated American actor, director, and singer, best known for his work on Broadway and for his role as country superstar Luke Wheeler on ABC's '' Nashville''. Early life and educat ...

(born 1970), American actor and singer * Will Clapp (born 1995), American football player *

Will Clark William Nuschler Clark Jr. (born March 13, 1964) is an American professional baseball first baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 through 2000. He played for the San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles ...

(born 1964), American baseball player *

Will Clyburn William Dalen Clyburn (born May 17, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for Anadolu Efes of the Turkish Basketball Super League and the EuroLeague. Clyburn attended three colleges, from 2008 to 2013: Marshalltown Community Colleg ...

(born 1990), American professional basketball player *

Wil Cordero Wilfredo Cordero Nieva (born October 3, 1971) is a former shortstop, first baseman, and outfielder in Major League Baseball. He was best known as a member of the Montreal Expos (1992–1995, 2002–2003). Cordero made his Major League Baseball d ...

(born 1971), Puerto Rican baseball player *

Will Craig William Isaac Craig (born November 16, 1994) is an American former professional baseball first baseman. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates and in the KBO League for the Kiwoom Heroes. Amateur career Cra ...

(born 1994), American baseball player * Will Dissly (born 1996), American football player *

Will Durant William James Durant (; November 5, 1885 – November 7, 1981) was an American writer, historian, and philosopher. He became best known for his work '' The Story of Civilization'', which contains 11 volumes and details the history of eastern a ...

(1885–1981), American writer and historian *

Will Durst Will Durst (born on March 18, 1952) is an American political satirist. He has been called a modern mix of Mort Sahl and Will Rogers. Early life Durst was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He went to 14 different schools before graduating from ...

(born 1952), American humorist *

Will Eisner William Erwin Eisner (March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series ''The Spirit'' (1940–1952) was not ...

(1917–2005), American cartoonist *

Will Eno Will Eno (born 1965) is an American playwright based in Brooklyn, New York. His play, '' Thom Pain (based on nothing)'' was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama in 2005. His play ''The Realistic Joneses'' appeared on Broadway in 2014, wher ...

(born 1965), American playwright * Will Estes (born 1978), American actor *

Will Ferrell John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. He first established himself in the mid-1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show '' Saturday Night Live'', where he performed from 1995 to 2 ...

(born 1967), American actor *

Will Finn William Snelgrove Finn (born November 1, 1958) is an American animator, voice actor, storyboard artist, and director. Career His work in animation includes characters from Disney, Warner Bros., DreamWorks, and Don Bluth films such as '' The ...

(born 1958), American animator * Will Flemming (born 1979), American sportscaster * Will Fries (born 1998), American football player *

Will Forte Orville Willis Forte IV ( ; born June 17, 1970) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. Forte is known for being a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' (2002–2010), a recurring character on the show leading to a feature film ada ...

(born 1979), American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer * Will Fuller (born 1994), American football player *

Will Geer Will Geer (born William Aughe Ghere; March 9, 1902 – April 22, 1978) was an American actor, musician, and social activist, who was active in labor organizing and other movements in New York and Southern California in the 1930s and 1940s. In C ...

(1902–1978), American actor and social activist *

Will Graham (evangelist) William Franklin Graham IV (born January 30, 1975) is an American Christian evangelist. He is the executive director of the Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove and associate evangelist of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Graham is ...

(born 1975), American evangelist * Will Grier (born 1995), American football player * Will Grigg (born 1991), English footballer *

Will Gold William Patrick Spencer Gold (born 14 September 1996), known professionally as Wilbur Soot, is a British Twitch Online streamer, streamer, YouTuber, and musician. He first became known in 2017 for his work with the group comedy YouTube channel ...

(born 1996), English Internet personality and musician * Will Harris (American football) (born 1997), American football player * Will Hastings (born 1996), American football player *

Will Hay William Thomson Hay (6 December 1888 – 18 April 1949) was an English comedian who wrote and acted in a schoolmaster sketch that later transferred to the screen, where he also played other authority figures with comic failings. His film '' O ...

(1888–1949), English comedian *

Will H. Hays William Harrison Hays Sr. (; November 5, 1879 – March 7, 1954) was an American Republican politician. As chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1918–1921, Hays managed the successful 1920 presidential campaign of Warren G. H ...

(1879–1954), American politician *

Will Heard William James Heard (born 26 April 1991)Will Heard , Biography ...

(born 1991), English singer-songwriter *

Will Hernandez William "Will" Hernandez (born September 2, 1995) is an American football guard for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at UTEP. College career After redshirting his first year at UTEP in 201 ...

(born 1995), American football player *

Will Hill 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 ...

(born 1990), American football player * Will Holden (American football) (born 1993), American football player * Will Hutchins (born 1930), American actor * Wil S. Hylton, American journalist * Will Inman (poet) (1923–2009), American poet *

Will Johnson (disambiguation) Will Johnson may refer to: * Will Johnson (composer), American composer and improvisor * Will Johnson (defensive lineman) (born 1964), American-born American and Canadian football defensive lineman *Will Johnson (musician) (born 1971), leader of Te ...

, multiple people *

Wil Jones (basketball) Wilbert Jones (born February 27, 1947) is an American former professional basketball player. Career A 6'8" forward born in McGehee, Arkansas, and played college basketball at Albany State University, he was named a Little All-American by UPI fo ...

(born 1947), American basketball player *

Will Keith Kellogg William Keith Kellogg (April 7, 1860 – October 6, 1951), generally referred to as W.K. Kellogg, was an American industrialist in food manufacturing, best known as the founder of the Kellogg Company, which produces a wide variety of popular ...

(1860–1951), founder of the Kellogg food company *

Will Kemp (actor, born 1977) William Kemp (born 29 June 1977) is an English actor and dancer. Life and career Kemp was born in Hertfordshire, England. Trained at the Royal Ballet School, at age 17 he was accepted at dance company Adventures in Motion Pictures (AMP). He w ...

, English actor and dancer *

Will Lee William Lee (born William Lubovsky; August 6, 1908 – December 7, 1982) was an American actor who appeared in numerous television and film roles, but was best known for playing Mr. Hooper, the original store proprietor of the eponymous Hoope ...

(1908–1982), American actor * Wil London (born 1997), American sprinter *

Wil Lutz William “Wil” Lutz (born July 7, 1994) is an American football placekicker for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia State. Early life Lutz was born in Newnan, Georgia. Both h ...

(born 1994), American football player *

Will Lyman William Lyman (born May 20, 1948) is an American voice-over artist, actor, and musician. Being known for his polished, resonant voice, Lyman has narrated the PBS series ''Frontline'' since its second season in 1984 and played William Tell in th ...

(born 1948), American voice actor *

Will Mastin Will Mastin (June 20, 1878 – March 14, 1979), also credited as Will Maston, was a dancer and singer. Career on the dance floor Mastin was the leader of the Will Mastin Trio, which included Sammy Davis Sr. and his son Sammy Davis Jr. Will M ...

(1878–1975), American entertainer *

Wil McCarthy Wil () is the capital of the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Wil in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. Wil is the third largest city in the Canton of St. Gallen, after the city of St. Gallen and Rapperswil-Jona, a twin city that merged in ...

(born 1966), American science fiction novelist *

Will McClay Will McClay (born October 13, 1966) is vice president of player personnel for the Dallas Cowboys. Previously, he was head coach of the Dallas Desperados of the Arena Football League. Early life McClay was born on October 13, 1966 in Memphis, Tenn ...

(born 1966), American football player and coach *

Will McDonald IV Wilbert McDonald IV (born June 4, 1999) is an American football defensive end for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Iowa State and was selected by the Jets as the 15th pick in the first roun ...

(born 1999), American football player *

Will Muschamp William Lawrence Muschamp (born August 3, 1971) is an American football coach and former player. He is the co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach at the University of Georgia. He served as head football coach at the University of Florida fr ...

(born 1971), American football head coach * Wil Myers (born 1990), American baseball player *

Wil Nieves Wilbert "Wil" Nieves (born September 25, 1977) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball catcher and current minor league coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, New York Yankees, Washington National ...

(born 1977), Puerto Rican baseball player * Will Nightingale (born 1995), English footballer * Will Overstreet (born 1979), American football player *

Will Patton William Rankin Patton (born June 14, 1954) is an American actor and audiobook narrator. He starred as Colonel Dan Weaver in the TNT science fiction series '' Falling Skies''. He also appeared in the films '' Remember the Titans'', ''Armageddon' ...

(born 1954), American actor * Will Poulter (born 1993), English actor *

Will Rayman William Henry Rayman (born April 1, 1997) is an American-Israeli basketball player who plays the power forward position for Hapoel Haifa in the Israeli Basketball Premier League. He played college basketball for Colgate, for whom in his senio ...

(born 1997) American-Israeli basketball player for Hapoel Haifa in the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional competition in Israeli club basketball, making it Israel's primary basketball c ...

* Will Reichard (born 2001), American football player * Wil Robinson (born 1949), American basketball player *

Will Rogers William Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was an American vaudeville performer, actor, and humorous social commentator. He was born as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, in the Indian Territory (now part of Oklahom ...

(1879–1935), American humorist * Will Rogers (American football) (born 2001), American football player * Will Ryan (1949-2021), American voice actor * Will Sampson (1933-1987), American actor and painter *

Will Sasso 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 wil ...

(born 1975), Canadian actor * Will Shipley (American football) (born 2002), American football player * Will Shortz (born 1952), American puzzle creator *

Wil Shriner Wil Herbert Shriner (born December 6, 1953) is an American actor, comedian, film director, screenwriter and game show host. Life and career Shriner was born in New York City, New York, the twin brother of soap opera actor Kin Shriner, and the ...

(born 1953), American actor *

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his acting career starring as a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom '' The Fresh ...

(born 1968), American actor and rapper * Will Solomon (born 1978), American basketball player * Will Sommers (died 1560), the best-known court jester of King Henry VIII * Will Streets (1886–1916), English soldier and poet of the First World War *

Will Sutton William Sutton (born October 3, 1991) is a former American football defensive tackle. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Arizona State. As a member of the 2012 team, S ...

(born 1991), American football player *

Wil Trapp William Alexander Trapp (born January 15, 1993) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defensive midfielder for Major League Soccer club Minnesota United. A native of Columbus, Ohio, Trapp graduated from Lincoln High School ...

(born 1993), American soccer player *

Wil Traval William Traval is an Australian actor, known for his work as Dr. Jack Quade on the Australian hospital drama '' All Saints'' (2004–2008), and as Will Simpson on the Netflix superhero drama series ''Jessica Jones'' (2015–2018). Early life ...

(born 1980), Australian actor *

Wil van der Aalst Willibrordus Martinus Pancratius van der Aalst (born 29 January 1966) is a Dutch computer scientist and full professor at RWTH Aachen University, leading the Process and Data Science (PADS) group. His research and teaching interests include inf ...

(born 1966), Dutch computer scientist, and professor * Will Vinton (1947-2018), American filmmaker * Wil Waluchow, Canadian philosopher * Will Weaver (basketball), American basketball coach *

Wil Wheaton Richard William Wheaton III (born July 29, 1972) is an American actor. He portrayed Wesley Crusher on the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', Gordie Lachance in the film '' Stand by Me'', Joey Trotta in '' Toy Soldiers'', ...

(born 1972), American actor *

Will Whitehorn William Elliot Whitehorn (born 1960) is a British business executive. Until December 2010 he was President of Virgin Galactic, company which plans to offer space tourism flights to the paying public.Mather, Adrian (2004-10-08). First Edinburgh m ...

(born 1960), British business executive * Will Wright (actor) (1894–1962), American actor * Will Wright (born 1960), American video game designer * Will Wynn (born 1961), former mayor of

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

Will Yun Lee William Yun Lee (born March 22, 1971) is an American actor and martial artist. He is best known for his roles as Danny Woo in the supernatural drama '' Witchblade'' and Jae Kim in the sci-fi series '' Bionic Woman''. He has also appeared in t ...

(born 1971), American actor

Women

* Wil Burgmeijer (born 1947), Dutch retired speed skater * Wil van Gogh (1862–1941), Dutch nurse and feminist, youngest sister of Vincent van Gogh

Fictional characters

* Wil, the main character of the Welsh-language TV series ''

Wil Cwac Cwac ''Wil Cwac Cwac'' is a Welsh-language animated television series produced by Siriol Animation for S4C in 1982. It is based on a series of children's books written in the early 1930s by Jennie Thomas and J. O. Williams (including the famous Wel ...

'' * Will, in the video game '' Advance Wars: Days of Ruin'' * Will (Pokémon), in the Pokémon universe *

Will Blake Will Blake (born 1991) is an American painter best known for his representations of American Civil War reenactment. He studied at the Florence Academy of Art in the summer of 2012, the Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; g ...

, in the ''Goosebumps'' series *

Will Byers William Byers is a fictional character from the American science fiction horror drama television series ''Stranger Things''. Portrayed by Noah Schnapp, the character appeared in a recurring capacity in the first season before being promoted ...

, one of the main characters of ''

Stranger Things ''Stranger Things'' is an American science fiction horror drama television series created by the Duffer Brothers, who also serve as showrunners and are executive producers along with Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen. Produced by Monkey Massacre Pr ...

'' *Will Cloud, one of the main characters in the film, Cloud 9 *

Will Gardner Will Gardner is a character of CBS television series ''The Good Wife'' and was portrayed by Josh Charles for the first five seasons of the show's run. For his performance, Charles received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations as well as a Golden ...

, on the American TV series ''The Good Wife'' *

Will Griggs Will Griggs (also Sebastian Barnes) is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera ''Neighbours'', played by Christian Clark. The character debuted on-screen in the episode airing on 12 October 2006. He was introduced into t ...

, on the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'' * Will Herondale from Cassandra Clare's '' The Infernal Devices'' *

Will Horton Will Horton is a fictional character from the American daytime TV soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'', known for a highly praised coming out story, award-winning performances by actor Chandler Massey, and as one half of US daytime drama's first ma ...

, on the American soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'' * Will Hunting, protagonist of the 1997 film ''

Good Will Hunting ''Good Will Hunting'' is a 1997 American psychological drama film directed by Gus Van Sant, and written by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. It stars Robin Williams, Damon, Affleck, Stellan Skarsgård and Minnie Driver. The film received positive r ...

'' *

Wil Ohmsford ''The Elfstones of Shannara'' is a 1982 epic fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks. It is the first sequel to ''The Sword of Shannara'' and the second book in '' The Original Shannara Trilogy''. It expands upon the history of the Elves, w ...

, in the fantasy novel ''The Elfstones of Shannara'' and the TV series ''The Shannara Chronicles'' * Will Robinson, one of the main characters in the TV series

Lost in Space ''Lost in Space'' is an American science fiction television series, created and produced by Irwin Allen, which originally aired between 1965 and 1968 on CBS. The series was inspired by the 1812 novel ''The Swiss Family Robinson.'' The series fo ...

* Will Sawyer, the protagonist in '' Skyscraper (2018 film)'' *

Will Scarlet Scarlet (also Scarlett, Scarlock, Scadlock, Scatheloke, Scathelocke and Shacklock) is a prominent member of Robin Hood's Merry Men. He is present in the earliest ballads along with Little John and Much the Miller's Son. The confusion of surn ...

, one of Robin Hood's Merry Men * Will Solace from Rick Riordan's '' Trials of Apollo'' * Will Truman, one of the title characters of the TV sitcom ''Will & Grace'' *

Will Turner William Turner Jr. is a fictional character in the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' films. He appears in '' The Curse of the Black Pearl'' (2003), '' Dead Man's Chest'' (2006), '' At World's End'' (2007), and '' Dead Men Tell No Tales'' (2017). He ...

, in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series * Wilhelmina "Will" Vandom, one of the five main titular characters in the 2017 republished comic book series of ''

W.I.T.C.H. ''W.I.T.C.H.'' (stylised as ''W.i.t.c.h.'') is an Italian fantasy Disney comics series created by Elisabetta Gnone, Alessandro Barbucci, and Barbara Canepa. The series features a group of five teenage girls who become the guardians of the class ...

'' Her full name changed to Wilma in TV series adaptation. {{given name Hypocorisms English masculine given names