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Boy · Germanic, through Old French
Guillaume
Say it: gee-YOHM
Meaning
From Germanic wil 'will, desire' and helm 'helmet, protection'.
Certainscholars agree on this meaning.
Among the commonest men's names in medieval Paris and still well used.
Its wave through time
Rare in the records
In the United States
- 327 babies given this name since 1967
- At its height in 1997, about 1 in 99,200 boys
- Fewer than 5 babies a year in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
The family of the name
| English | William |
|---|---|
| Dutch | Willem |
| German | Wilhelm |
| Italian | Guglielmo |
Famous bearers
- Guillaume le Conquérant (William the Conqueror)
- Guillaume de Machaut, composer
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- The Paris tax rolls of the 1290s
- Royal and noble genealogies
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.