William
Look up William in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
William | |
---|---|
William the Conqueror The name William became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of England in 1066 by William the Conqueror. | |
Pronunciation | /ˈwɪliəm/ |
Gender | Male |
Origin | |
Word/name | Germanic languages |
Meaning | "Strong-willed Warrior" |
Region of origin | Northern Europe |
Other names | |
Nickname(s) | Will, Willy, Willie, Bill, Billy |
Related names | Wilhelm, Guillaume, Guillermo, Guglielmo, Guilherme, Gwilym |
Popularity | see popular names |
William is a popular given name of an old Germanic origin.[1] It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of England in 1066,[2] and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is sometimes abbreviated "Wm." Shortened familiar versions in English include Will, Willy, Bill, and Billy. A common Irish form is Liam. Scottish diminutives include Wull or Wullie (see Oor Wullie or Douglas for example). Female forms are Willa, Willemina, Willamette, Wilma and Wilhelmina.
Etymology
William comes ultimately from the given name Wilhelm (cf. Old German Wilhelm > German Wilhelm and Old Norse Vilhjálmr). The Anglo-Saxon form should be *Wilhelm as well (although the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle refers to William the Conqueror as Willelm).[3] That is a compound of two distinct elements : wil = "will or desire"; helm; Old English helm "helmet, protection";[1] > English helm "knight's large helmet".
In fact, the form William is from the Old Norman form Williame, because the English language should have retained helm. The development to -iam is the result of the diphthongation [iaʷ] + [m] in Old Norman-French, quite similar in Old Central French [eaʷ] + [m] from an early Gallo-Romance form WILLELMU. This development can be followed in the different versions of the name in the Wace's Roman de Rou.[4]
The spelling and phonetics Wi- [wi] is a characteristic trait of the Northern French dialects, but the pronunciation changed in Norman from [wi] to [vi] in the 12th century (cf. the Norman surnames Villon and Villamaux "little William"), unlike the Central French and Southern Norman that turned the Germanic Wi- into Gui- [gwi] > [gi]. The Modern French spelling is Guillaume.[5] . The first well-known carrier of the name was Charlemagne's cousin William of Gellone, a.k.a. Guilhelm, William of Orange, Guillaume Fierabrace, or William Short-Nose (755–812). This William is immortalized in the Chanson de Guillaume and his esteem may account for the name's subsequent popularity among European nobility.
According to Dutch legend, as recorded by Verstegan (1550 – 1640), William is originally derived from the Germanic name Gildhelm, meaning "golden helmet" and dates to Roman times. The name was later adapted as the more well known forms of "Wilhelm", and "Guillaume". Verstegen states that Gildhelm was a title of bravery awarded to a German for killing Roman soldiers in battle. The honored soldier was lifted on a shield and a golden helmet of a dead Roman soldier was placed upon his head, and the soldier was honored with the title "Gildhelm", or "golden helmet". With the French the title was Guildhaume, and Since Guillaume. Latin Guielmus[6][7] "Helm" could also refer to the golden diadem or crown of a king as was common in the later days of the Roman empire.
English history
The English "William" is taken from the Anglo-Norman language and was transmitted to England after the Norman Conquest in the 11th Century, and soon became the most popular name in England, along with other Norman names such as Robert (the English cognate was Hrēodbeorht[8]), Richard, Roger (the English cognate was Hroðgar[9]), Henry and Hugh (all of Germanic origin, transmitted through the Normans' use of Old French).
The name Wilkin is also of medieval origin taken from the shortened version of William (Will) with the suffix "kin" added.[10]
Variants
- Viliamu (Samoan)
- Viliami (Tongan)
- Whiriyamu (Karanga)
- Whiliyamu (Ndebele)
- Wilhelm (German, Polish, Swedish)
- Willem, Wilhelmus, Wim, Pim, Jelle (Dutch, Frisian, Low German)
- Willem, Wilhelm (Afrikaans - 'W' pronounced as English 'V')
- Wiremu (Maori)
- Willelm (Old English)
- Wullie, Wully, Weelum, Willum (Scots)
- Williama (Hawaiian)
- Wellëm (Luxembourgish)
- Walaam (Persian)
- Uiliyom, Wiliyom (Bengali)
- Wilyem, Wilyom (Sylheti)
- Billem (Toba Batak)
- Cuglierme (Neapolitan)
- Gilen, Guilen (Basque)
- Gulielmus, Vilhelmus, Willelmus, Gullelmus, Gullielmus, Villelmus (Latin)
- Guglielmo (Italian)
- Guillaume (French)
- Guildhelm (Old Dutch)
- Guilhem (Occitan)
- Guillem, Guim (Catalan)
- Guillén (Aragonese)
- Guillermo (Spanish)
- Guilherme (Portuguese)
- Guillerme (Galician)
- Gwilym (Welsh)
- Gwilherm (Breton)
- Gugghiermu (Sicilian)
- Gllâome (Modern Norman)
- Uilliam, Ulliam (Irish)
- Liam (Irish)
- Illiam (Manx Gaelic)
- Uilleam (Scottish Gaelic)
- وليم (Arabic)
- Gulielm (Albanian)
- Уилиам – Uiliam (Bulgarian)
- װֶעלװֶעל – /ˈvelvel/ (Yiddish)
- Villem, Villu (Estonian)
- Уильям – William, Вильям – William, Вильгельм – Vil'gel'm (Russian)
- Вільгельм – Vil'hel'm (Ukrainian)
- Уільям - Uil'yam (Belarusian)
- Villem - Estonian
- Vilhelm (Danish, Norwegian, Romanian, Swedish)
- Vilhelmo (Esperanto)
- Vilhelms (Latvian)
- Viliam (Slovak)
- Viljem (Slovene)
- ויליאם – /ˈviljam/ (older propronunciation), /ˈwiljam/ (contemporary) (Hebrew)
- Vilim (Croatian)
- Vilém (Czech)
- Vilmos (Hungarian)
- Viljams, Vilhelms, Vilis (Latvian)
- Vilius, Viliumas, Vilhelmas (Lithuanian)
- Viljami, Ville, Vilho, Viljo (Finnish)
- Vilhjálmur (Icelandic)
- Vilhjálmur, Viljormur (Faroese)[11]
- Vilhjálmr (Old Norse)
- Vilko (Croatian)
- Vilyam, Vilyım (Turkish)
- Vėljams (Samogitian)
- Γουλιέλμος, Ουίλιαμ (Gouliélmos, Uiliam) (Greek) - the latter is the phonetic transliteration of William to Greek, used when referring to foreigners with that version of the name.
- Գուլիելմոս (Goulielmós) (Armenian)[12]
- Vĩnh Liêm (Vietnamese)
- ウィリアム (Wiriamu) (Japanese)
- 윌리암 (William) (Korean)
- 威廉 (Wēilían) (Chinese) – for persons whose original name is in English, German, Dutch, or Afrikaans; for other languages there are other versions.
- Shortened names
- Bill
- Billy
- Gil
- Will
- Willy, Willie
- Gui
- Guiguille, Guigui (French language)
- Guille (Spanish)
- Liam
- Memo (Mexico, El Salvador, Costa Rica)
- Yam
People named William
Royalty
British
- William I of England (1027–1087), a.k.a. William the Conqueror, or William the Bastard
- William II of England (1056–1100), a.k.a. William Rufus
- William I of Scotland (c. 1142–1214), a.k.a. William the Lion
- William IX, Count of Poitiers (1153–1156), first son of Henry II of England
- William III of England (1650–1702), also William II of Scotland, a.k.a. William of Orange
- William IV of the United Kingdom (1765–1837), King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death
- Prince William, Duke of Cambridge (born 1982), formerly Prince William of Wales, son of Charles, Prince of Wales
Dutch
- William I, Count of Holland (1167–1222), Count of Holland
- William II of Holland (1228–1256), also King of Germany
- William I, Prince of Orange (1533–1584), a.k.a. William the Silent
- William II, Prince of Orange (1626–1650), stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands
- William III of Orange (1650–1702), also William III of England and William II of Scotland
- William I of the Netherlands (1772–1843), Prince of Orange and the first King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg
- William II of the Netherlands (1792–1849), King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and Duke of Limburg
- William III of the Netherlands (1817–1890), King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and Duke of Limburg
- William IV, Prince of Orange (1711–1751), first hereditary Stadtholder of all the United Provinces
- William V, Prince of Orange (1748–1806), last Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic
French
- William of Gellone (c.755–814), Count of Toulouse, canonized a saint
German
- William I, (1797-1888), Emperor of Germany and King of Prussia
- William II (1859-1941), Emperor of Germany and King of Prussia
Sicilian
- William I of Sicily (1131–1166), a.k.a. William the Bad or William the Wicked
- William II of Sicily (1155–1189), a.k.a. William the Good
- William III of Sicily (1190–1198), last Norman King of Sicily, reigning briefly for ten months in 1194
Cameroon
- William I of Bimbia, 19th-century king of the Isubu people
- William II of Bimbia (died 1882), king of the Isubu people
Other
- William II of Villehardouin (died 1278), Prince of Achaea
- William of Werle (died 1436/94-1436), Lord of Werle-Güstrow
- William IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (1852–1912)
- William, Prince of Albania (1876–1945), from March to September 1914
Pre-modern era
British
- William (bishop of the Isles) (died 1095), bishop of what later became the Diocese of the Isles
- William de Corbeil (c. 1070–1136), Archbishop of Canterbury
- William of Malmesbury (died 1143), English historian and monk
- William of Tyre (c. 1130–1185), Archbishop of Tyre, chronicler of the Crusades
- William of Norwich (c. 1132–1144), saint and martyr
- William of York (died 1154), Archbishop of York and saint
- William (bishop of Moray) (died 1162), Roman Catholic bishop in Scotland
- William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1146/7-1219), Anglo-Norman soldier and statesman
- William of Ramsey (fl. 1219), 13th-century English monk and hagiographer
- William (bishop of Dunblane) (died early 1290s), Tironensian abbot and bishop in the Kingdom of Scotland
- William Wallace (died 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the Wars of Scottish Independence.
- William of Ockham (1287–1347), English friar and philosopher, originator of Occam's Razor
- William of Wykeham (1320–1404), Bishop of Winchester, founder of Winchester College and New College, Oxford
French
- William I, Duke of Normandy (r. 927–942), "William Longsword", second Duke of Normandy
- William of Poitiers (c. 1020–1090), Norman chronicler, chaplain to William the Conqueror
- William de St-Calais (died 1096), a.k.a. William of St. Carilef, Norman abbot, Bishop of Durham
- William (bishop of Orange) (died 1098), took part in the First Crusade
- William of Champeaux (1070–1121), French philosopher and theologian
- William of Conches (c. 1090-c. 1154), French scholastic philosopher, tutor of Henry II of England
- William of Donjeon (c. 1155–1209), a.k.a. St. William of Bourges and St. William the Confessor, French archbishop
- William the Clerk 13th century Scoto-Norman poet, writer of the Old French Roman de Fergus
- William the Clerk of Normandy, 13th century Norman cleric and Old French poet
- William of Auxerre (died 1231), French theologian
Other
- William (marcha orientalis) (died 871), 9th century margrave of the March of Pannonia, part of the Carolingian Empire
- William (archbishop of Mainz) (929–968), German bishop, son of Emperor Otto the Great
- William of St-Thierry (died 1148), theologian and mystic, abbot of St. Thierry
- William of Moerbeke (1215–1286), Flemish bishop, translator of philosophical, medical, and scientific texts
Modern era
- will.i.am, stage name of American singer/songwriter William James Adams (born 1975)
Fictional characters
- William Brown, main character of the Just William novel series
- Baby William, son of Dana Scully and Fox Mulder in the American television series, The X-Files
- Father William, comical character in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
References
- 1 2 Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, Oxford Dictionary of First Names, Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1, p.276.
- ↑ All Things William, Meaning & Origin of the Name, www.allthingswilliam.com/willynilly/name-origin.html
- ↑ Peter S. Baker. "William the Conqueror". oldenglishaerobics.net.
- ↑ René Lepelley, Guillaume le duc, Guillaume le rois: extraits du Roman de Rou de Wace, Centre de Publications de l'Université de Caen, 1987, pp. 16–17.
- ↑ Lepelley, pp. 15–17.
- ↑ English Grammar; the English Language in Its Elements and Forms: With a ... By William Chauncey Fowler, 1868
- ↑ Words: Their Use and Abuse, By William Mathews, 1896
- ↑ "Geocities has shut down". Yahoo Small Business.
- ↑ Mike Campbell. "Behind the Name: Meaning, Origin and History of the Name Roger". Behind the Name.
- ↑ An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names With an Essay on their Derivation and Import; Arthur, William, M.A.; New York, NY: Sheldon, Blake, Bleeker & CO., 1857; pg. 266.
- ↑ List of Faroese male names
- ↑ M. Petrossian (ed.). New Dictionary Armenian-English. Librairie de Beyrouth.