Williams
Masculine · “will-helmet”
Williams is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 6,126 boys against 24 girls since 1880.
Williams is the son of William, and William is one of the great Norman imports — the name the conqueror carried, which made it the commonest man's name in England within two generations of 1066.
How old is the name Williams?
Williams was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Williams alive today was born around 1960, making them about 65 years old. About 3,700 people named Williams are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Williams most popular?
Williams peaked in 1887, reaching #488 nationally. Today it ranks #3036, 2,548 places below that high. See the whole 1887 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Willahelm to Williams
The story of Williams
William the Conqueror made the name unavoidable in England: within a century it was carried by a very large share of the male population, which is precisely why so many surnames are built on it — Williams, Williamson, Wilson, Wilkins, Willis. The -s form is especially common in Wales, where fixed surnames arrived late and were often made from a father's name in a single generation. Williams became an American given name in the nineteenth century by the usual route.
Meaning
will-helmet; resolute protection
Germanic wil, 'will, desire, determination', with helm, 'helmet, protection'. Like most Germanic names it sets two nouns side by side without grammar between them, so the sense is something like determined-protection rather than any single phrase. The -s ending on Williams is a patronymic, common in the English west country and in Wales. The reading is documented.
How the name formed
- Willahelm
- Guillaume
- William
- Williams
Related forms: William · Gwilym · Wilhelm
Pronouncing Williams
WIL-yumz
Two syllables, stress on the first. There is no ambiguity in the sound; the only question is whether the final s is there, which it usually is not on the given name William.
Nicknames for Williams
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 193074 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #488reached in 1887
- Change vs 2022
- 0.0%40 in 2025, from 40
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Williams in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- William in English — related form
- Gwilym in Welsh — related form
- Wilhelm in German — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, Florida, New York.
Williamss among us
people named Williams are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 42,702 born in 2025 was named Williams
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Williams sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Williams is headed
Williams should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Williams beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Williams in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Will, Billy and Liam are all hiding inside it, which gives a surname-name three excellent short forms.
- A documented Norman origin and one of the best-recorded names in English history.
- Said and spelled correctly by every English speaker without being told.
- It is unmistakably a surname and the final s will be dropped constantly.
- William is far more common as a given name and this will be corrected to it.
- It carries a strong nineteenth-century American flavor in this form.
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What they receive
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Williams
Masculine · #3036 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Williamss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 3,700 people named Williams are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Williams in 2025?
- Williams ranks #3036 among US boy names in 2025, with 40 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Williams?
- About 1 in every 42,702 US boys born in 2025 was named Williams — 40 in all.
- Will my child share the name Williams with classmates?
- Williams will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Williams
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Loren#3036 · Collier#3036 · Amadou#3036 · Kavion#3036 · Sheppard#3036 · Koi#3036 · Sailor#3036 · Claude#3036
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Williams? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Williams and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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