Head to head · Boys' names
William vs Wyatt
#9 vs #38 in 2025 · both stepping back from its peak
William is ahead (#9 vs #38 in 2025) and both are stepping back from its peak. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, William leads 4 measures of 6; Wyatt leads 0.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: William #2, Wyatt #548 — William higher
- 1890s: William #2, Wyatt #606 — William higher
- 1900s: William #2, Wyatt #779 — William higher
- 1910s: William #2, Wyatt #825 — William higher
- 1920s: William #3, Wyatt #968 — William higher
- 1930s: William #4, Wyatt #1075 — William higher
- 1940s: William #4, Wyatt #973 — William higher
- 1950s: William #6, Wyatt #768 — William higher
- 1960s: William #7, Wyatt #866 — William higher
- 1970s: William #10, Wyatt #649 — William higher
- 1980s: William #15, Wyatt #540 — William higher
- 1990s: William #18, Wyatt #241 — William higher
- 2000s: William #9, Wyatt #89 — William higher
- 2010s: William #4, Wyatt #38 — William higher
- 2020s: William #8, Wyatt #37 — William higher
William stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | William | Wyatt |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #2 | #548 |
| 1890s | #2 | #606 |
| 1900s | #2 | #779 |
| 1910s | #2 | #825 |
| 1920s | #3 | #968 |
| 1930s | #4 | #1075 |
| 1940s | #4 | #973 |
| 1950s | #6 | #768 |
| 1960s | #7 | #866 |
| 1970s | #10 | #649 |
| 1980s | #15 | #540 |
| 1990s | #18 | #241 |
| 2000s | #9 | #89 |
| 2010s | #4 | #38 |
| 2020s | #8 | #37 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
William
- Canada#5
- England & Wales#27
- Scotland#52
Wyatt
- Canada#42
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
William
will, desire + helmet, protection
From the Germanic elements wil (will, resolve) and helm (helmet, protection) — often glossed together as "resolute protector".
Willahelm → Wilhelm → Willelm → William
How it traveled
The name begins in continental Germanic as Willahelm and spread widely in Frankish and Old High German territory as Wilhelm. The Normans carried their own form of it into England in the eleventh century, where William the Conqueror's victory in 1066 made it instantly fashionable among the Anglo-Norman ruling class; within a few generations it was among the commonest men's names in England.
Wyatt
either "brave in war" or "wood, wide", depending on which root you follow
Two serious lines compete. One traces Wyatt to the Old English name Wīgheard, from elements meaning "war" and "hardy, brave". The other takes it from Wyot, a medieval English pet form of Guy — from Germanic Wido, tied to words for wood or for wide. Both were live in medieval England, and the surname may well collect from both.
Wīgheard / Wido → Wyot → Wyatt (surname) → Wyatt (given name)
How it traveled
In medieval England, Wyot was an everyday given name; when the English began fixing family names, it settled into Wyatt and its cousins Wyat, Wiatt and Guyatt. Like so many English surnames, it crossed to North America and then made the leap back into first-name use, which is where American parents met it.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
William
WIL-yum
Stress on the first syllable. Two syllables in ordinary speech, sometimes drawn out to three (WIL-ee-um) in careful or formal delivery.
- Will — The most current short form, used informally and increasingly registered on its own.
- Liam — Originally the Irish short form of Uilliam; now overwhelmingly given as a full name in its own right rather than as a nickname for William.
- Bill — A long-standing informal form; strongly represented among older generations of Williams.
- Billy — Informal and affectionate, used for boys and men alike, and also given as a standalone name.
- Also Willie, Wills.
Wyatt
WY-ət
Stress on the first syllable, which rhymes with "why". The ending is an unstressed "ut", the same shape as "quiet" — and the two names are occasionally misheard for each other over the phone.
- Wy — The one short form in genuine use; informal, family-and-friends register, and rarely written down.
- Wyatt — Most Wyatts go by the full name in every setting — it is already short enough for a roll call.
Who has carried each name
William
William Shakespeare (b. 1564) — The most famous writer who ever lived
William Blake (b. 1757) — Visionary poet and artist
William Butler Yeats (b. 1865) — Nobel Prize-winning Irish poet
Wyatt
Wyatt Earp (b. 1848) — Lawman of the O.K. Corral
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose William if you want…
- a name most people already know#9 in 2025, 10,545 babies that year
- plenty of nickname options6 recorded short forms — Will, Liam and Bill
- a name that charts abroad tooWilliam is on the national lists of Canada, England & Wales and Scotland
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 12% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 80% for Wyatt
Choose Wyatt if you want…
- a name fewer children share#38 in 2025 — wyatt will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name that feels very nowWyatt is stepping back from its peak
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
William
Strengths
- Spelled and pronounced correctly on first hearing by virtually every English speaker, with no competing variant spellings to explain.
- An unbroken record in English since the eleventh century, and still given to babies now — long past the point where a name can date a person.
- Unusually rich in short forms: Will, Bill, Billy, Willie, Wills, each with real historical use, so the bearer has room to choose.
To consider
- It is genuinely common and always has been. Expect other Williams in the classroom, the workplace and quite possibly the extended family.
- You cannot fully control which short form sticks. Coaches, cousins and classmates may land on Bill, Billy or Willie regardless of what you use at home.
- Because it is so well established among older generations, many Williams alive today are grandfathers and great-grandfathers — lovely if you want that continuity, worth knowing if you don't.
Wyatt
Strengths
- Instantly recognizable spelling for most American ears, thanks to a century of Westerns — people generally write it correctly on the first try.
- Short and stress-clear: two syllables, no pronunciation debate, easy for a small child to say and to learn to write.
- Works as a surname-style name, so it sits comfortably in formal and casual settings alike and travels across gender lines.
To consider
- The Old West association is strong and specific. For most people the name calls up a marshal and a gunfight before anything else — a good story to some ears, a costume to others.
- The double-t spelling is standard, but Wyat and Wiatt exist, and the name gets typed as one t often enough that a correction now and then is likely.
- Almost every child with this spelling is a boy. A girl named Wyatt is on solid ground — it is a surname, and surnames travel — but she will be explaining the choice more often than her brothers would.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
William
12%chance William feels dated by 2040
William has held the top-100 across 15 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
Wyatt
80%chance Wyatt feels dated by 2040
Wyatt is coming down from a big peak (#25 in 2017). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear William and Wyatt in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between William and Wyatt?
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both William and Wyatt — the same style, ranked by the same records.
William or Wyatt — the short answers
- Which is more popular, William or Wyatt?
- William, in 2025: William ranked #9 with 10,545 babies; Wyatt ranked #38 with 6,480 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, William or Wyatt?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years William moved down 4 places; Wyatt moved down 9 places.
- Which is the older name, William or Wyatt?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named William and Wyatt?
- About 2,248,000 people named William are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 204,000 people named Wyatt are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Williams or Wyatts in the classroom?
- Roughly 1 in 6 classrooms will have a child named William. Wyatt will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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