How common is the surname William?

13,373 people in the United States had the surname William in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 23,087 Americans. It ranked 2,694th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named William?

Will John, American soccer player.

Where is the surname William most common?

Wikidata records people named William in the United States.

How do you pronounce William?

William is /ˈwɪl.i.əm/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname William getting more or less common?

Less common. 17,164 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 13,373 in 2010, down 22%.

Is William also a first name?

Yes. William is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname William

A Norman surname, carried by 13,373 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈwɪl.i.əm/ 2 syllables Soundex W450 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). William is more common than 98.3% of them.

Origin

Norman origin

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.

One of 128 Norman surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 13,373 people named William in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 23,087 Americans. That is down 22% since 2000, when the Census counted 17,164.

#2,694

rank among US surnames

13,373

people in 2010

4.5

per 100,000 Americans

-22.1%

change since 2000 (was #1,923)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#2,685	Tirado	13,410	23,024
#2,686	Robb	13,402	23,037
#2,687	Templeton	13,396	23,048
#2,688	Rinehart	13,392	23,054
#2,689	Goetz	13,390	23,058
#2,690	Rhoads	13,389	23,060
#2,691	Bock	13,382	23,072

Who is named William

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

54% of people named William identified as Black (not Hispanic), 35% as white (not Hispanic) and 4.2% as Asian and Pacific Islander.

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

Compare: most common surnames among Black Americans.

Famous Williams

1 notable person on Wikidata, most written-about first

Will John
American soccer player, born 1985

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like William

Willen

William has the Soundex code W450, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code W450.

Other Norman surnames

All 128 Norman surnames

Questions

Where does the surname William come from?: 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…
How common is the surname William?: 13,373 people in the United States had the surname William in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 23,087 Americans. It ranked 2,694th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname William?: In the 2010 Census, 54% of people named William identified as Black (not Hispanic), and 35% as white (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named William?: Will John, American soccer player.
Where is the surname William most common?: Wikidata records people named William in the United States.
How do you pronounce William?: William is /ˈwɪl.i.əm/, 2 syllables.
Is the surname William getting more or less common?: Less common. 17,164 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 13,373 in 2010, down 22%.
Is William also a first name?: Yes. William is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.