How Many People Are Named William?
An estimated 2,335,115 people in the United States have the first name William, making it one of the 10 most popular first names in the country (ranked #6, behind David). It is almost exclusively a male name. The average bearer is 54 years old, and William peaked in popularity in 1947 with 67,155 births that year. It has a similar number of bearers to Christopher (1,933,719).
Below you will find a full statistical profile of William as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name William paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While William is overwhelmingly male, 16,022 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- With over 2.3 million estimated living bearers, William is one of the most common first names in American history.
Estimated Living Americans
2,335,115
About 1 in 147 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Very Common
Predicted Gender
Male
99.6% confidence
Average Age
54
years old
Peak Year
1947
67,155 births
Total Registered
4,205,026
since 1880
Gender Distribution for William
William is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 4,205,026 total births registered, 99.6% were male.
William as a male name
Ranked #10 in 2024
10,596 male births in 2024
Peak: 1947 (67,001 births)
William as a female name
Ranked #11,017 in 2024
9 female births in 2024
Peak: 1928 (348 births)
William: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for William span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1950s, when 592,615 babies were registered. William has declined significantly from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
William by Decade
How has William tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 85,246 | 84,881 | 365 | |
| 1890s | 72,618 | 72,244 | 374 | |
| 1900s | 69,646 | 69,320 | 326 | |
| 1910s | 304,151 | 303,018 | 1,133 | |
| 1920s | 515,057 | 512,402 | 2,655 | |
| 1930s | 418,631 | 416,728 | 1,903 | |
| 1940s | 557,976 | 556,469 | 1,507 | |
| 1950s | 592,615 | 591,226 | 1,389 | |
| 1960s | 423,205 | 421,411 | 1,794 | |
| 1970s | 285,273 | 283,415 | 1,858 | |
| 1980s | 249,970 | 248,286 | 1,684 | |
| 1990s | 218,257 | 217,818 | 439 | |
| 2000s | 194,758 | 194,404 | 354 | |
| 2010s | 160,129 | 159,945 | 184 | |
| 2020s | 57,494 | 57,437 | 57 | |
William by State
Birth registrations for William span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, Pennsylvania, California. The lowest are in Alaska, Wyoming, Vermont. On average, about 77,897 Williams were registered per state.
William + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with William as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to William
Other first names starting with W with a similar number of bearers.
William: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named William?
We estimate approximately 2,335,115 people named William are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 147 Americans share this first name.
Is William a common name?
William is classified as "Very Common" and is more popular than 100% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 4,205,026 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was William most popular?
William reached peak popularity in 1947, when 67,155 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named William is approximately 54 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is William a male name?
William is predominantly male. 99.6% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many William Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: William Smith, William Johnson, William Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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