William Boy
How popular is William?
#9 boy name in 2025
10,545 baby boys were named William in the US in 2025, making it the 9th most popular boy name. Another 7 girls got the name (#11,928 for girls).
William popularity over time
Boys Girls
| Rank in 2025 | #9 for boys (▲ 1 from 2024) |
|---|---|
| Babies in 2025 | 10,545 boys, 7 girls |
| 10-year trend | Falling (-34% babies vs 2015) |
| Earlier ranks | #5 in 2015, #5 in 2020 |
| Peak year | 1947 (67,002 boys) |
| Highest rank | #2 in 1880 (40 years at that rank) |
| First recorded | 1880 |
| Boys vs girls (last 10 years) | 100% boys, 0% girls |
| Chance a classmate shares it | 7% in a class of 25 kids born in 2025 |
William counting every spelling
Social Security counts each spelling as its own name. Adding together the spellings that sound alike, the William family of names ranked #12 for boys in 2025, with 10,565 babies in all.
| Spelling | Boys in 2025 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| William | 10,545 | 100% |
| Wiliam | 13 | 0% |
| Willliam | 7 | 0% |
Spellings are grouped by how they sound, using our own rules, so a few groupings may not match how your family says the name.
Where William is most popular
Babies named William per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021 to 2025. Darker means more common.
- Wyoming: 18.2 per 1,000 (105 boys)
- District of Columbia: 16.5 per 1,000 (244 boys)
- Alabama: 14.8 per 1,000 (1,619 boys)
- Mississippi: 14.0 per 1,000 (793 boys)
- New Hampshire: 13.6 per 1,000 (303 boys)
William by decade
| Decade | Baby boys | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 84,881 | #2 |
| 1890s | 72,244 | #2 |
| 1900s | 69,320 | #2 |
| 1910s | 303,017 | #2 |
| 1920s | 512,402 | #2 |
| 1930s | 416,730 | #4 |
| 1940s | 556,478 | #4 |
| 1950s | 591,228 | #6 |
| 1960s | 421,433 | #6 |
| 1970s | 283,401 | #7 |
| 1980s | 248,277 | #14 |
| 1990s | 217,822 | #14 |
| 2000s | 194,415 | #5 |
| 2010s | 159,981 | #3 |
| 2020s | 68,067 | #5 |
Boy names about as popular as William
Questions
- Is William a boy or girl name?
- William is mostly a boy name. Over the last 10 years, 100% of babies named William were boys.
- How popular is the name William?
- 10,545 baby boys were named William in the US in 2025, making it the 9th most popular boy name. Another 7 girls got the name (#11,928 for girls).
- When was William most popular?
- William peaked in 1947, when 67,002 boys were given the name. Its highest rank was #2, held for 40 years starting in 1880.
- How many people are named William?
- 4,215,725 babies have been named William in the US since 1880. We estimate about 2,227,643 of them are alive in 2026, with a median age of 56.
- Where is William most popular?
- From 2021 to 2025, William was most common in Wyoming, at 18.2 of every 1,000 boys born there.
Source: Social Security Administration baby name data, 1880 to 2025 (names given to at least 5 babies of a sex in a year). Living-people and median-age figures are our estimates using US life tables. How we calculate.