# William (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/william/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Norman |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 13,373 |
| US rank (2010) | 2,694 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 23,087 people |
| Change since 2000 | -22.1% (17,164 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈwɪl.i.əm/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From Middle English William, from Anglo-Norman Willame, from Old High German Willahelm, from Proto-Germanic *Wiljahelmaz (> Latin Gulielmus), from Proto-Germanic *wiljô (“will”) + *helmaz (“helmet”), ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European roots *welh₁- (“to choose, wish, want”) and *ḱel- (“to cover, conceal, save”), respectively. Cognate with Dutch Willem, German Wilhelm, etc.; cognate borrowings outside of Germanic include Guillaume and Guillermo.

## Who carries it

Share of people named William in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 35% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 54% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 3.6% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 4.2% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.1% |
| Two or more races | 2.4% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named William in the United States.

## People named William

- Will John, American soccer player

## Similar surnames

Willen, Whalen, Whelan, Wallen, Wallin, Woolwine, Woolum.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.