William
Norman conquest of England in 1066 by William the Conqueror. | |
Pronunciation | /ˈwɪljəm/[1] |
---|---|
Gender | Male |
Origin | |
Language(s) | Germanic languages |
Meaning | "Vehement protector" |
Region of origin | Northern Europe |
Other names | |
Nickname(s) | |
Related names | |
Popularity | see popular names |
William is a
Etymology
William is related to the
By regular sound change, Proto-Germanic *Wiljahelmaz should have also descended into English as *Wilhelm, but this latter form is unattested in written English of any period; the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle refers to William the Conqueror as Willelm, a back-formation from the Medieval Latin variant.[4] The form William is a back-borrowing from Old Norman Williame, a specifically northern Norman reflex of Medieval Latin Willelmus (compare the Central French cognate Guillaume). The development of the name's northern Norman form can be traced in the different versions of the name appearing in Wace's Roman de Rou.[5]
The first well-known bearer of the name was Charlemagne's cousin William of Gellone (755–812). This William is immortalized in the Chanson de Guillaume, and the esteem in which he was held may account for the name's subsequent popularity among European nobility.
English history
The English "William" is taken from the
The name
Variants
- Wilem, Awilemam (Koromfe)
- Weelum (Scots)
- Willum (Scots)
- Viliamu (Samoan)
- Viliami (Tongan)
- Whiriyamu (Karanga)
- Whiliyamu (Ndebele)
- Wilhelm (German, Polish, Swedish)
- Willem, Wilhelmus, Wim (Dutch, Frisian, Low German)
- Willem, Wilhelm (Afrikaans)
- Wiremu (Maori)
- Willelm (Old English)
- Williama (Hawaiian)
- Wëllem (Luxembourgish)
- Walaam (Persian)
- Wiliyom, Wiliyem (Bengali)
- Vĩnh Liêm, Vĩnh Lâm (Vietnamese)
- Billem (Toba Batak)
- Cuglierme, Gugliemo (Neapolitan)
- Golem, Gulielm, Ylli, Ylmer (Albanian)
- Gilen, Guilen (Basque)
- Gulielmus, Vilhelmus, Willelmus, Gullelmus, Gullielmus, Villelmus (Latin)
- Guglielmo (Italian)
- Guillaume (French)
- Guildhelm (Old Dutch)
- Guilhèm, Guilhem, Guilherme, Guilhèume, Guilhaume, Glhaume (Occitan)
- Guillem, Guim (Catalan)
- Guillén (Aragonese)
- Guillermo (Spanish)
- Guilherme (Portuguese)
- Guillerme (Galician)
- Gwilym (Welsh)
- Gwilherm (Breton)
- Gugghiermu (Sicilian)
- Gllâome (Modern Norman)
- Uilliam (Irish)
- Liam (Irish)
- Illiam (Manx Gaelic)
- Uilleam (Scottish Gaelic)
- وِلْيَم – William (Arabic)
- Уилям – Uiliam (Bulgarian)
- װֶעלװֶעל – /ˈvelvel/ (Yiddish)
- Villem, Villu (Estonian)
- Уильям – Uilyam (Russian)
- Вільгельм, Вільям – Vil'hel'm, Vil'yam (Ukrainian)
- Уільям, Вільям – Uiĺjam, Viĺjam (Belarusian)
- Vilhelm (Danish, Norwegian, Romanian, Swedish)
- Vilhelmo (Esperanto)
- Vilhelms (Latvian)
- Viliam (Slovak)
- Viljem (Slovene)
- ויליאם – /ˈviljam/ (older pronunciation), /ˈwiljam/ (contemporary) (Hebrew)
- Vilim (Croatian)
- Вилим (Serbian)
- Vilém (Czech)
- Vilmos (Hungarian)
- Viljams, Vilhelms, Vilis (Latvian)
- Vilius, Viliumas, Vilhelmas (Lithuanian)
- Viljami, Ville, Vilho, Viljo (Finnish)
- Vilhjálmur (Icelandic)
- Vilhjálmur, Viljormur (Faroese)[10]
- Vilhjalmr (Old Norse)
- Vilko (Croatian)
- Vilyam, Vilyım (Turkish)
- Vėljams (Samogitian)
- Γουλιέλμος (Gouliélmos) (Greek)
- ܘܠܝܡ (Wil-yam) (Assyrian)
- Գուլիելմոս (Goulielmós) (Armenian)[11]
People named William
See also
- All pages with titles beginning with William
- Williams (surname)
- Bill (disambiguation)
- Billy (disambiguation)
- King William (disambiguation)
- Prince William (disambiguation)
- Saint William (disambiguation)
- Wilhelm (disambiguation)
References
- ^ "william – Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at". Oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1, p. 276.
- ^ All Things William, "Meaning & Origin of the Name"
- ^ 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.
- ^ this coming from a Middle English pronunciation of IPA: /rɛːdbɛ:r(x)t/→/rɛːdbɛɾt/→/ɾɛːdbaɾt/→/re:dbäɾt/, and finally, via the great vowel shift, /riːdbɑːrt/
- ^ "Edgar's Name Pages, Robert". Edgar's Name Pages. Archived from the original on 2004-06-28.
- ^ 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.