Name Rarity Checker / How rare is William
How Rare Is the Name William?
William is a top-five name across the whole span of U.S. records. It ranks 5th of all time, with about 1 in 88 people sharing it, which puts it in the Very Common tier. It was most popular in the 1950s. Here is the full picture, decade by decade, plus a card you can save and share.
- Rarity
- 1 in 88
- Tier
- Very Common
- U.S. rank
- 5th
- Share of people
- 1.1%
- People named
- 4,205,026
- Most popular
- the 1950s
Based on U.S. births recorded by the Social Security Administration, 1880 to 2024. Figures describe recorded names, not people alive today.
About the name William
William arrived in England with the Norman conquest of 1066 and William the Conqueror himself. The Germanic roots mean roughly 'resolute protector.' Its nicknames Will, Bill, Billy, and Liam have all had separate lives of their own.
Want to check a different name? Try the Name Rarity Checker. First names are only half the picture: the surname rarity checker runs the same math on last names, using the Census surname file.
Frequently asked questions
- How rare is the name William?
- William is in the Very Common tier. About 1 in 88 people share it, which is 1.1% of all recorded U.S. names, and it ranks 5th of all time. In total 4,205,026 Americans have been given the name since 1880.
- Is William a rare name?
- No. William is a well-known name rather than a rare one. It is in the Very Common tier, ranked 5th of all time, with about 1 in 88 people sharing it.
- How common is the name William?
- About 1 in 88 people in U.S. records share the name William, which is 1.1% of all recorded names and 5th of all time. That places it in the Very Common tier.
- Is William a boy or girl name?
- In the records, William is given almost entirely to boys. Of 4,205,026 people with the name, 16,022 were girls and 4,189,004 were boys.
- When was the name William most popular?
- William peaked in the 1950s. The bars on the card show its popularity for every decade from 1880 to 2024.