William

William was the #9 boys' name in the US in 2025 (10,545 babies), and #25 in England & Wales and #5 in Canada.

William as a boy’s name

US
England & Wales
Scotland
Northern Ireland
Ireland
Canada
NSW
VIC

Babies per 1,000 of the same sex in each published list. New South Wales and Victoria publish their top 100 only, so they appear in the rank view and only in years the name made the top 100. Breaks in a line are years with too few babies to be published.

Show the numbers

Year	US	England & Wales	Scotland	Northern Ireland	Ireland	Canada	NSW	VIC
2025	#9 (10,545)	#25 (1,456)	#52 (80)	#59 (38)	#73 (81)	#5 (1,285)	#11 (290)	#10 (286)
2024	#10 (10,647)	#27 (1,517)	#66 (77)	#64 (40)	#67 (87)	#5 (1,364)	#11 (301)	#12 (284)
2023	#10 (10,673)	#29 (1,544)	#53 (92)	#58 (41)	#66 (94)	#5 (1,347)	#8 (371)	#12 (267)
2022	#6 (11,356)	#24 (1,806)	#40 (117)	#67 (39)	#67 (103)	#3 (1,530)	#4 (427)	#7 (328)
2021	#6 (12,170)	#21 (2,093)	#29 (146)	#61 (47)	#57 (118)	#3 (1,708)	#4 (458)	#7 (356)
2020	#5 (12,676)	#20 (2,215)	#36 (126)	#68 (43)	#51 (118)	#3 (1,703)	#3 (478)	#3 (409)
2019	#4 (13,658)	#17 (2,667)	#34 (147)	#53 (55)	#50 (141)	#3 (1,877)	#3 (531)	#4 (424)
2018	#3 (14,646)	#14 (3,015)	#33 (153)	#60 (50)	#48 (157)	#2 (2,072)	#2 (567)	#3 (436)
2017	#3 (15,046)	#11 (3,437)	#33 (164)	#50 (58)	#54 (139)	#3 (2,045)	#2 (558)	#2 (466)
2016	#3 (15,810)	#11 (3,819)	#33 (174)	#40 (70)	#50 (155)	#2 (2,164)	#2 (591)	#3 (405)
2015	#5 (15,950)	#8 (4,083)	#32 (181)	#49 (60)	#51 (157)	#2 (2,096)	#2 (633)	#3 (411)
2014	#5 (16,851)	#10 (4,134)	#35 (180)	#47 (65)	#50 (165)	#2 (2,200)	#2 (633)	#3 (463)
2013	#5 (16,669)	#8 (4,268)	#39 (187)	#36 (79)	#43 (195)	#2 (2,225)	#1 (699)	#1 (494)
2012	#5 (16,917)	#9 (4,590)	#37 (199)	#42 (73)	#51 (169)	#3 (2,196)	#1 (652)	#2 (476)
2011	#3 (17,362)	#10 (4,632)	#37 (201)	#34 (80)	#47 (190)	#2 (2,270)	#1 (650)	#2 (461)

The tide so far

Peaked in the US in 1880 at #2.
Holding steady over the last five years.
In the US records since the data begins in 1880.

How common is it?

about 1 in 160 baby boys in the published US list for 2025.

In a group of 1,000 children born that year, you would expect to meet about 6. How we work this out.

How common, country by country

Where	Sex	Latest year	Share	Verdict
US	Boys	2025	about 1 in 160	very common
England & Wales	Boys	2025	about 1 in 190	very common
Scotland	Boys	2025	about 1 in 250	common
Northern Ireland	Boys	2025	about 1 in 220	common
Ireland	Boys	2025	about 1 in 290	common
Canada	Boys	2025	about 1 in 120	very common

Next year

On its recent trend, William is likely to hold steady in the US in 2026: about 1 in 170 baby boys. Likely range 1 in 160 to 1 in 180.

Estimate, not an official figure. How we estimate.

Across the US

William (boys) rank in each state, 2025. Hatched states recorded fewer than 5 babies.

#1–10
#11–50
#51–100
#101–500
below #500

Across Canada

Province	Year	Rank	Babies
Quebec	2025	#6	455
Ontario	2024	#12	414

William (boys): rank in each province’s latest list. Only Quebec and Ontario publish full name lists; Ontario’s latest list is a year behind.

Spellings

Official statistics count each spelling separately, so we show them side by side rather than adding them up.

Spelling	Where	Sex	Latest rank	Babies
William	Canada	Girls	—	too few
William	Canada	Boys	#5	1,285
William	England & Wales	Girls	—	too few
William	England & Wales	Boys	#25	1,456
William	Ireland	Boys	#73	81
William	Northern Ireland	Boys	#59	38
William	NSW	Boys	#11	290
William	Scotland	Boys	#52	80
William	US	Girls	#11,932	7
William	US	Boys	#9	10,545
William	VIC	Boys	#10	286