Meaning & origin
A reliable meaning for Willam isn’t established in our sources yet. Rather than guess, we show what is recorded: how the name is used, how often, and the names it’s connected to.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Willam through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 3,516
- 3,516 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1959
- 76 babies
- 2025
- 5
- #13,798 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 5 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 13,798 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 76 in 1959. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 6,497 as a first name in 2020; 134 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Willam’s family of names
Willam may belong to the same name family as WILLLAM. This is a tentative spelling connection.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Willam
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Willam, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Wally
“the commander of the army” · “a powerful ruler”
>99% boys
Walt
“the commander of the army”
>99% boys
Williams
“will” · “desire”
>99% boys
Wayde
“to cross the river ford”
>99% boys
Jim
“he who supplants” · “heel grabber”
>99% boys
Ward
“a guardian”
86% boys · 14% girls
Timmy
“one who honors God”
>99% boys
Tim
“one who honors God” · “a respected man”
>99% boys