William
William is ranked 10th among boys in 2024 (10,596 births). Its best rank was 2nd, in 1880–1909, 1911–1920.
- Rank in 2024
- #10same as 2023
- Births in 2024
- 10,5960.62% of boys
- Peak year
- 194767,001 births
- Best rank
- #2first in 1880
- Since 1880
- 4,205,026people given the name
The story in the numbers
4,189,004 boys have been named William in the United States since 1880, according to Social Security records. The busiest single year was 1947, with 67,001 births — 3.7% of all boys recorded that year.
It is holding steady: its share of births has moved by less than half in either direction over ten years (rank 5 → 10).
Half of everyone given the name was born by 1951, and the 1950s alone account for 14%. It has spent 145 of 145 years in the top 1,000, 145 of them in the top 100 and 117 in the top 10.
It is overwhelmingly a boy’s name: 16,022 girls have also been given it, 0.38% of the total.
Rank among boys, year by year
By decade
| Decade | boys named William | |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 84,881 | |
| 1890s | 72,244 | |
| 1900s | 69,320 | |
| 1910s | 303,018 | |
| 1920s | 512,402 | |
| 1930s | 416,728 | |
| 1940s | 556,469 | |
| 1950s | 591,226 | |
| 1960s | 421,411 | |
| 1970s | 283,415 | |
| 1980s | 248,286 | |
| 1990s | 217,818 | |
| 2000s | 194,404 | |
| 2010s | 159,945 | |
| 2020s | 57,437 |
In 1947, its biggest year
William was the 4th most given boy’s name that year. The top five boys’ names of 1947 were James, Robert, John, William and Richard. See all of 1947.
Names that rose and fell with William
Same sex, most similar popularity curve over 145 years, in five-year steps — the shape of the line, not the size.
- Johnpeak 1947
- Charlespeak 1947
- Frederickpeak 1951
- Edwardpeak 1924
- Lewispeak 1921
- Willampeak 1959
- Leepeak 1951
- Harveypeak 1921
Other spellings in the data
What this page does not tell you. The Social Security data records how many babies were given a name, not what the name means or where it comes from — so neither do we. Counts cover people with a Social Security number; names given to fewer than five babies in a year are withheld. More on the data.