boy's name

Williams

  • Gender Boy
  • Syllables 2
  • Letters 8
  • Popularity Uncommon
  • Births on record 9,220

Williams is a boy's name with 2 syllables. In 2025 it was given to 40 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.

  • Peaked in 1950, when 86 babies were given the name.
  • Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
  • Today about 1 in 82,884 babies in the United States is given this name.
  • 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.

Williams over time

Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.

613
'80 '90 '00 '10 '20 '30 '40 '50 '60 '70 '80 '90 '00 '10 '20
Show the numbers
Births named Williams by decade in the United States
Decade Births
1880s 101
1890s 106
1900s 134
1910s 386
1920s 603
1930s 547
1940s 573
1950s 613
1960s 510
1970s 411
1980s 393
1990s 494
2000s 580
2010s 426
2020s (to 2025) 273

How popular is Williams?

In 2025, Williams was given to 40 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.

Where Williams is used

France #2,695 10 in 2025
United States #3,044 40 in 2025
Canada #3,099 5 in 2019
England & Wales #3,369 6 in 2025

The bar shows how near the top of each country's list the name sits, on a scale where #1 fills the row and #1,000 is a sliver. The figures beside it are the real rank and the babies recorded that year.

US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.

How Williams is spelled

Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.

Spelling What it is Births on record
William'S William'S is Williams written with an apostrophe, recorded mostly in France. 25

Names that peaked alongside Williams

These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.

Parents who like Williams also like

Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Williams over the last century — the same taste, a different name.

Sibling names for Williams

Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Williams — the two things that make a sibling set grate.

Common questions about Williams

How popular is the name Williams?

In 2025, Williams was given to 40 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.

Is Williams a girl's or a boy's name?

Williams is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.

How many syllables are in Williams?

Williams has 2 syllables.

When was Williams most popular?

Williams peaked in 1950, when 86 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.

Is Williams a good name?

That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Williams currently ranks #2,695 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.