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William Name Popularity

    

Charts | Table | About | By Year

How popular is William?

The uber popular name William was the 3rd Most Popular Boys Name in the United States in 2018.

This top 10 contender has enjoyed a rank in the top 50 since 1880, when the Social Security Administration began keeping records.

It reached its highest popularity RANKING of #2 for the first time in 1880 and as recently as 1920.

However, the name was bestowed upon the greatest number of babies in 1947 with 66,989 occurrences.

The least amount of newborns dubbed William in any given year was 5,990 in 1901.

Decidely upward trends in the number of babies given the name William occurred roughly during the years 1897-1900, 1910-1921, 1939-1942, and 1943-1947, whereas clearly downward trends happened around 1930-1933, 1954-1966, 1969-1976, 1989-1995, 2002-2005, 2006-2010, and 2011-2017.

Where is the name William popularity headed?

Overall, when compared to its most prominent year, the name's popularity is at a low point.

William's popularity has been moving downward for some time. In recent years, continuing the trend, the number of babies given the name William has dropped.

The name William is a huge favorite but will probably continue to drift downward in popularity.

*Mouse over the charts or scroll down to the table for data details.

 
Mouse over or Click for Percentages.
   William (Girl)William (Boy)
Year %No. of Babies Given NamePopul. RankNo. of Babies Given NamePopul. Rank
2018 10 10,435 14,516 3
2017 18 6,774 14,967 3
2016 20 6,373 15,761 3
2015 15 7,970 15,909 5
2014 23 5,781 16,820 5
2013 14 8,539 16,641 5
2012 19 6,847 16,885 5
2011 28 5,049 17,343 3
2010 23 5,963 17,051 5
2009 15 8,432 17,918 5
2008 28 5,270 18,391 8
2007 26 5,509 18,882 8
2006 18 7,128 18,957 10
2005 28 4,819 19,052 11
2004 111 1,743 20,225 8
2003 32 4,211 19,990 11
2002 34 3,880 20,124 11
2001 24 5,001 20,101 10
2000 38 3,521 20,661 11
1999 26 4,439 20,710 14
1998 36 3,422 20,833 14
1997 26 4,237 20,019 19
1996 41 2,958 20,541 18
1995 46 2,683 20,157 20
1994 45 2,747 21,489 19
1993 42 2,879 22,209 18
1992 60 2,237 23,066 20
1991 56 2,319 23,866 19
1990 61 2,151 24,895 16
1989 94 1,529 24,673 15
1988 164 1,003 24,126 16
1987 169 958 24,203 15
1986 165 956 24,332 15
1985 183 880 24,606 16
1984 158 934 24,905 16
1983 186 827 25,395 16
1982 178 871 25,601 15
1981 171 888 24,806 15
1980 216 765 25,654 14
1979 191 822 24,699 13
1978 187 805 24,188 13
1977 187 805 24,769 12
1976 200 739 24,446 11
1975 163 830 25,572 10
1974 169 804 26,990 10
1973 163 804 28,021 9
1972 193 729 30,529 9
1971 201 741 35,432 7
1970 204 730 38,910 7
1969 199 716 37,629 6
1968 190 708 36,956 6
1967 186 720 37,619 6
1966 180 736 38,253 6
1965 157 788 40,127 6
1964 157 836 44,240 7
1963 181 768 44,474 7
1962 175 785 44,860 7
1961 204 729 47,994 7
1960 164 812 49,350 7
1959 157 822 51,366 7
1958 161 791 54,195 6
1957 166 782 56,829 6
1956 156 798 58,957 6
1955 117 913 59,958 6
1954 129 831 61,417 6
1953 132 803 61,840 6
1952 145 739 63,047 6
1951 107 871 62,782 6
1950 126 773 60,689 6
1949 131 752 61,501 4
1948 157 668 61,965 4
1947 154 677 66,989 4
1946 157 630 60,038 4
1945 142 610 50,213 4
1944 136 629 52,369 4
1943 168 583 55,898 4
1942 170 568 54,884 4
1941 140 597 47,789 4
1940 151 564 44,768 4
1939 153 539 42,077 4
1938 138 590 42,422 4
1937 164 514 40,713 4
1936 154 523 39,386 4
1935 163 497 40,198 4
1934 175 487 40,170 4
1933 195 470 39,049 4
1932 235 429 42,117 4
1931 238 419 43,276 4
1930 289 399 47,265 4
1929 337 362 47,805 4
1928 349 368 49,117 4
1927 320 383 51,482 4
1926 303 395 51,920 4
1925 289 403 53,304 3
1924 245 445 53,511 3
1923 225 460 52,136 3
1922 194 500 51,116 3
1921 189 517 51,860 3
1920 205 477 50,149 2
1919 175 515 43,971 2
1918 172 536 45,290 2
1917 165 519 42,422 2
1916 136 576 40,419 2
1915 129 569 38,564 2
1914 97 576 29,753 2
1913 94 530 23,538 2
1912 78 554 19,626 2
1911 50 609 10,593 2
1910 37 704 8,844 3
1909 35 682 7,914 2
1908 45 562 7,528 2
1907 29 709 6,904 2
1906 28 706 6,566 2
1905 28 682 6,495 2
1904 25 709 6,416 2
1903 35 557 6,311 2
1902 25 687 6,616 2
1901 32 545 5,990 2
1900 44 514 8,579 2
1899 23 663 6,086 2
1898 41 485 7,400 2
1897 32 529 7,198 2
1896 44 439 7,747 2
1895 40 464 7,277 2
1894 34 493 7,274 2
1893 32 486 7,223 2
1892 44 405 7,782 2
1891 50 354 6,763 2
1890 34 445 7,494 2
1889 46 357 7,772 2
1888 42 371 8,705 2
1887 44 323 7,470 2
1886 35 364 8,252 2
1885 33 353 8,044 2
1884 34 340 8,897 2
1883 40 281 8,387 2
1882 31 322 9,298 2
1881 30 289 8,524 2
1880 30 287 9,532 2

United States name popularity data is provided by the Social Security Administration and is based on Social Security card applications.

Data for a given year is not made available until well into the next year.

Data reflects what was recorded and has not been edited for errors, so for example the gender associated with a name may be incorrect.

The more babies that are given a particular name, the higher the popularity ranking. If multiple names have the same usage, the tie is broken by assigning popularity rank in alphabetical order. Therefore in the case of names with fewer occurrences, names with the same number of occurrences may have vastly different rankings because they will be interranked alphabetically.

To safeguard privacy, the SSA does not include names with less than 5 occurrences.

Please note, we update the data each May when the SSA releases new figures. All data changes at that time, including previous years, which will change minutely based on new information.