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 f ...
of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the
Norman conquest
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, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...
Oor Wullie
''Oor Wullie'' () is a Scottish comic strip published in the D.C. Thomson & Co. Ltd, D.C. Thomson newspaper ''The Sunday Post''. It features a character called Wullie; Wullie is a Scots language, Scots nickname for boys named William, equival ...
). Female forms include
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 Brow ...
,
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'', ''Minnie,'' ''Willy'', ''Willie'' and ''Wilma''. People with th ...
William is related to the German given name ''Wilhelm''. Both ultimately descend from
Proto-Germanic
Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic languages, Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages.
Proto-Germanic eventually developed from ...
''*Wiljahelmaz'', with a direct cognate also in the
Old Norse
Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was 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 ...
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".Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'',
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 2nd edition, , p. 276.
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 refers to
William the Conqueror
William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...
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's '' Roman de Rou''.
The first well-known bearer of the name was
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...
's cousin William of Gellone (755–812). This William is immortalized in the
Chanson de Guillaume
The ''Chanson de Guillaume'', also called ''Chançun de Willame'' ( English: "Song of William"), is a ''chanson de geste
The , from 'deeds, actions accomplished') is a medieval narrative, a type of epic poetry, epic poem that appears at the ...
, 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 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), and Henry (all of Germanic origin and may have been transmitted through the Normans' use of
Old French
Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th Wilkin/Wilkins is also of medieval origin, taken from the shortened version of William (Will) with the suffix "kin" added.
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
Yiddish
Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
Old Norse
Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was 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 ...