Universal data > People > Popular first names

First name William
October 23, 2026

William Shakespeare

English playwright and poet (1564–1616)

Top 500 #435 Initials WS #1 Hamlet

William Shatner

Canadian actor (born 1931)

Initials WS #2

William the Conqueror

King of England | Duke of Normandy (c. 1028-1087)

Initials WC #3

William McKinley

president of the United States from 1897 to 1901 (1843-1901)

Initials WM #1

William H. Macy

American actor

Initials WM #2 Magnolia

William Hurt

American actor (1950–2022)

Initials WH #4 Avengers: Endgame

William Fichtner

American actor (born 1956)

Initials WF #4 The Dark Knight

William Howard Taft

27th President of the United States from 1909 to 1913 (1857–1930)

Initials WT #1

William Wallace

Scottish knight and leading figure in the First War of Scottish Independence

Initials WW #5

#10

William Henry Harrison

president of the United States in 1841 (1773-1841)

Initials WH #6

#11

William Faulkner

American writer (1897-1962)

Initials WF #5 The Sound and the Fury

#12

William Baldwin

American actor | producer | and writer (born 1963)

Initials WB #7

#13

William Holden

American actor (1918–1981)

Initials WH #7 The Bridge on the River Kwai

#14

William Mapother

American actor

Initials WM #7 Magnolia

#15

William Blake

English poet and artist (1757–1827)

Initials WB #8 And did those feet in ancient time

#16

William S. Burroughs

American novelist | short story writer | essayist | painter | and spoken word performer (1914–1997)

Initials WB #10 Naked Lunch

#17

William Daniels

American actor (born 1927)

Initials WD #4 The Graduate

#18

William Randolph Hearst

American newspaper publisher (1863–1951)

Initials WH #10

#19

William Tecumseh Sherman

United States Army general (1820–1891)

Initials WS #13

#20

William Cowper

English poet and hymnodist (1731–1800)

Initials WC #7

#21

William Saliba

French footballer (born 2001)

Initials WS #16

#22

William Morris

textile designer | artist | writer | printer (1834–1896)

Initials WM #14

#23

William Friedkin

American director and producer (1935–2023)

Initials WF #6

#24

William Butler Yeats

Irish poet and playwright (1865–1939)

Initials WY #1 The Second Coming

#25

William Perry

American football player (born 1962)

Initials WP #5

#26

William Jackson Harper

American actor

Initials WH #12 Midsommar

#27

William Katt

American actor and musician (born 1951)

Initials WK #6 Carrie

#28

William Petersen

American actor

Initials WP #6 Detachment

#29

William Guarnere

United States Army paratrooper during World War II (1923–2014)

Initials WG #6

#30

William James Sidis

American child prodigy (1898-1944)

Initials WS #17

#31

William Sadler

American actor (born 1950)

Initials WS #18 The Shawshank Redemption

#32

William Gibson

American-Canadian speculative fiction writer (born 1948)

Initials WG #8 Neuromancer

#33

William F. Buckley Jr.

American public intellectual | conservative author and political commentator (1925–2008)

Initials WJ #5

#34

William Zabka

American actor

Initials WZ #2

#35

William Somerset Maugham

English playwright and author (1874–1965)

Initials WM #18

#36

William Quantrill

Confederate Army officer (1837-1865)

Initials WQ #1

#37

William Poole

American boxer and a founder of the street gang the Bowery Boys (1821–1855)

Initials WP #9

#38

William Wordsworth

English Romantic poet (1770–1850)

Initials WW #14

#39

William Bonin

American serial killer (1947–1996)

Initials WB #15

#40

William Forsythe

American actor

Initials WF #7 Halloween

#41

William Calley

US Army officer convicted for massacre at My Lai | Vietnam (1943–2024)

Initials WC #12

#42

William Compton

American football player (born 1989)

Initials WC #13

#43

William Penn

English real estate entrepreneur | philosopher | early Quaker and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania (1644-1718)

Initials WP #11

#44

William Golding

British novelist | poet | playwright and Nobel Prize for Literature laureate (1911–1993)

Initials WG #9 Lord of the Flies

#45

William Roache

English actor

Initials WR #6

#46

William Ewart Gladstone

British Liberal prime minister (1809–1898)

Initials WG #10

#47

William Devino

American mobster (1921-1970)

Initials WD #6

#48

William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke

Anglo-Norman soldier and statesman (1146-1219)

Initials WP #12

#49

William Devane

American actor

Initials WD #7 Interstellar

#50

William Pitt the Younger

British statesman (1759–1806)

Initials WY #3

#51

William James

American philosopher | psychologist | and pragmatist (1842–1910)

Initials WJ #7

#52

William Hanna

American animator (1910–2001)

Initials WH #15

#53

William Patrick Stuart-Houston

Half-nephew of Adolf Hitler

Initials WS #25

#54

William Powell

American actor (1892–1984)

Initials WP #13

#55

William Atticus Parker

American filmmaker and actor

Initials WP #15

#56

William H. McRaven

United States admiral

Initials WM #21

#57

William Frawley

American actor (1887–1966)

Initials WF #9

#58

William Jennings Bryan

American politician (1860–1925)

Initials WB #21

#59

William Hopper

American actor (1915–1970)

Initials WH #18

#60

William M. Feehan

American firefighter

Initials WF #10

#61

William Joyce

British fascist and propaganda broadcaster (1906-1946)

Initials WJ #9

#62

William Ruto

President of Kenya since 2022

Initials WR #10

#63

William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne

British politician (1779–1848)

Initials WM #23

#64

William Wilberforce

English politician and abolitionist (1759–1833)

Initials WW #16

#65

William Earl Brown

American actor

Initials WB #24 Scream

#66

William Moseley

English actor (born 1987)

Initials WM #24 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion | the Witch and the Wardrobe

#67

William III of the Netherlands

King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg (1817–1890)

Initials WN #6

#68

William F. Sullivan

judge in Massachusetts | US

Initials WS #29

#69

William Rehnquist

chief justice of the United States from 1986 to 2005

Initials WR #12

#70

William Conrad

American World War II fighter pilot | actor | producer | and director (1920-1994)

Initials WC #18

#71

William Rees-Mogg

former editor of The Times (1928-2012)

Initials WR #13 The Sovereign Individual

#72

William Makepeace Thackeray

novelist

Initials WT #4 Vanity Fair

#73

William Magear Tweed

American politician (1823-1878)

Initials WT #5

#74

William Asher

American director | producer | screenwriter (1921-2012)

Initials WA #13

#75

William Regal

British professional wrestler

Initials WR #14

#76

William Lyon Mackenzie King

10th Prime Minister of Canada (1874–1950)

Initials WK #10

#77

William Henry Vanderbilt

American businessman and philanthropist (1821–1885)

Initials WV #5

#78

William Hickey

American actor (1927–1997)

Initials WH #23

#79

William Orbit

English musician | composer and record producer

Initials WO #3

#80

William Kristol

American writer

Initials WK #11

#81

William Halsey Jr.

United States admiral (1882–1959)

Initials WJ #14

#82

William Goldman

American novelist | screenwriter and playwright (1931-2018)

Initials WG #13 The Prince

#83

William Luther Pierce

American white supremacist and neo-Nazi (1933–2002)

Initials WP #21 The Turner Diaries

#84

William Henry Draper III

American businessman

Initials WI #3

#85

William Legge, 10th Earl of Dartmouth

British peer and politician

Initials WD #11

#86

William Windom

American actor (1923–2012)

Initials WW #22

#87

William Kidd

Scottish sailor who was tried and executed for piracy after returning from a voyage to the Indian Ocean

Initials WK #12

#88

William Rodríguez

9/11 survivor

Initials WR #17

#89

William H. Seward

American lawyer and politician (1801-1872)

Initials WS #36

#90

William Westmoreland

United States Army general (1914-2005)

Initials WW #25

#91

William Sanderson

American actor

Initials WS #38 Blade Runner

#92

William Christopher

American actor (1932-2016)

Initials WC #25

#93

William I of the Netherlands

King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg 1815–1840

Initials WN #8

#94

William Bligh

officer of the British Royal Navy and colonial administrator (1754-1817)

Initials WB #31

#95

William Atherton

American actor

Initials WA #16 The Last Samurai

#96

William Barton

Australian didgeridoo player

Initials WB #32

#97

William Carlos Williams

American poet

Initials WW #27

#98

William DuVall

American musician

Initials WD #12

#99

William Clay Ford

American businessman

Initials WF #17

#100

William Peter Blatty

American writer and filmmaker (1928-2017)

Initials WB #34 The Exorcist The Exorcist

#101

William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley

English statesman

Initials WB #35

#102

William Shockley

American physicist and inventor

Initials WS #41

#103

William O. Douglas

US Supreme Court justice from 1939 to 1975

Initials WD #14

#104

William Schallert

actor from the United States

Initials WS #42 Gremlins

#105

William Gallas

French footballer (born 1977)

Initials WG #18

#106

William Hung

American singer

Initials WH #28

#107

William Wyler

Swiss-German-American director and producer (1902–1981)

Initials WW #31

#108

William Averell Harriman

American businessman | politician and diplomat

Initials WH #29

#109

William H. Gates, Sr.

American attorney and philanthropist (1925–2020)

Initials WS #45

#110

William B. Davis

Canadian actor

Initials WD #15

#111

William Levy

Cuban actor

Initials WL #8 Resident Evil: The Final Chapter

#112

William Henry Moody

American politician

Initials WM #38

#113

William Hartnell

English actor (1908-1975)

Initials WH #31

#114

William R. Moses

actor

Initials WM #39

#115

William Stanford Davis

American actor

Initials WD #16

#116

William Walworth

Lord Mayor of London

Initials WW #34

#117

William Contreras

Venezuelan baseball catcher

Initials WC #33

#118

William Clark

American explorer | soldier | Indian agent | and territorial governor

Initials WC #34

#119

William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham

British politician

Initials WC #35

#120

William Hague

British politician (born 1961)

Initials WH #34

#121

William Cavendish, Earl of Burlington

British photographer

Initials WB #39

#122

William Hale

American murderer (1874–1962)

Initials WH #36

#123

William Brocius

gunman | rustler | outlaw

Initials WB #40

#124

William Inge

American football coach

Initials WI #7

#125

William Boyd

British writer

Initials WB #41

#126

William of Ockham

English medieval Franciscan friar and scholastic philosopher and theologian

Initials WO #6

#127

William Kissam Vanderbilt I

American railroad manager and horse breeder (1849–1920)

Initials WI #8

#128

William Moulton Marston

American psychologist | lawyer | inventor and comic book writer

Initials WM #42

#129

William Caxton

English merchant | diplomat | writer and printer

Initials WC #36

#130

William T. Anderson

American guerrilla fighter

Initials WA #19

#131

William Hogarth

English painter | printmaker | pictorial satirist | social critic | and editorial cartoonist

Initials WH #37

#132

William I, German Emperor

19th-century German Emperor and King of Prussia

Initials WE #5

#133

William Bufalino

American attorney

Initials WB #43

#134

William Stirling

British Army officer of the Special Air Service

Initials WS #46

#135

William Walker

American filibuster

Initials WW #35

#136

William Talman

American actor

Initials WT #7

#137

William Franklyn-Miller

British actor

Initials WF #22

#138

William J. Donovan

United States Army General | Medal of Honor recipient | and civil servant

Initials WD #18

#139

William Borah

American politician

Initials WB #45

#140

William Catlett

actor

Initials WC #38

#141

William Wallace Lincoln

third son of Abraham Lincoln

Initials WL #10

#142

William Seabrook

American journalist

Initials WS #49

#143

William S. Paley

American television executive

Initials WP #24

#144

William Herschel

German-born British astronomer | technical expert | and composer

Initials WH #38

#145

William Godwin

English journalist | political philosopher and novelist

Initials WG #21

#146

William Francis Buckley

United States Army officer and the CIA station chief in Beirut

Initials WB #48

#147

William Kamkwamba

Malawian inventor and author

Initials WK #20

#148

William Gummow

Australian judge

Initials WG #22

#149

William Franklin

American soldier | attorney | and colonial administrator

Initials WF #23

#150

William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim

Former Governor-General of Australia

Initials WS #53

#151

William Rockefeller, Sr.

American con artist

Initials WS #54

#152

William Clay Ford, Sr.

American football executive

Initials WS #56

#153

William M. Branham

American Christian minister

Initials WB #51

#154

William Demarest

actor

Initials WD #21

#155

William Saroyan

Armenian-American novelist | playwright | and short story writer (1908-1981)

Initials WS #57

#156

William Chan

Hong Kong singer

Initials WC #41

#157

William Lloyd Garrison

American journalist

Initials WG #24

#158

William Cohen

American politician

Initials WC #42

#159

William MacAskill

Scottish philosopher

Initials WM #44

#160

William Gaunt

English actor

Initials WG #25

#161

William Hope

Canadian stage | film | television and voice actor

Initials WH #41 Aliens

#162

William Russ

actor | television director

Initials WR #23

#163

William Lane Craig

American Christian apologist and evangelist

Initials WC #45

#164

William Smith

American actor (1933-2021)

Initials WS #61 The Outsiders

#165

William Lee Golden

American musician

Initials WG #26

#166

William McMahon

Australian politician | 20th Prime Minister of Australia (1908–1988)

Initials WM #47

#167

William R. King

vice president of the United States from March to April 1853 (1786–1853)

Initials WK #23

#168

William Gao

British actor | singer and model

Initials WG #27

#169

William McMaster Murdoch

British sailor (1873–1912)

Initials WM #48

#170

William the Lion

King of the Scots from 1165 to 1214

Initials WL #16

#171

William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire

British aristocrat and politician

Initials WD #25

#172

William E. Caswell

American physicist

Initials WC #47

#173

William Heirens

American criminal (1928–2012)

Initials WH #45

#174

William T. Vollmann

Novelist | short story writer | essayist

Initials WV #7

#175

William C. Durant

American businessman

Initials WD #26

#176

William F. Garrison

United States Army officer

Initials WG #29

#177

William Osula

Danish footballer

Initials WO #9

#178

William Lucking

American actor

Initials WL #18 Red Dragon

#179

William Steig

American cartoonist | children's illustrator and writer

Initials WS #66 Shrek!

#180

William J. Hochul, Jr.

American attorney and First Gentleman of New York

Initials WJ #28

#181

William Colby

American intelligence agent (1920–1996)

Initials WC #52

#182

William Jefferson Blythe, Jr.

birth father of 42nd U.S. President Bill Clinton

Initials WJ #29

#183

William B. Travis

Alamo defender

Initials WT #11

#184

William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe

British General in the American War of Independence

Initials WH #52

#185

William Junior Pierce

American serial killer

Initials WP #31

#186

William DeMeo

American actor

Initials WD #28

#187

William J. Brennan

U.S. Supreme Court justice from 1956 to 1990

Initials WB #58

#188

William Newsom

American judge | father of Gavin Newsom

Initials WN #17

#189

William Ernest Henley

English poet | critic and editor

Initials WH #55 Invictus

#190

William L. Shirer

American journalist (1904–1993)

Initials WS #71

#191

William Kennedy Smith

American physician; younger son of Jean Kennedy Smith and Stephen Edward Smith

Initials WS #72

#192

William J. Bratton

American police officer

Initials WB #59

#193

William Bendix

American actor (1906-1964)

Initials WB #60

#194

William Brewster

Religious emigrant to North America and leader there

Initials WB #61

#195

William Lee Scott

American actor

Initials WS #76 Pearl Harbor

#196

William Edward Hickson

British educational writer

Initials WH #56

#197

William Leonard Pickard

writer and researcher

Initials WP #32

#198

William Harvey

English physician

Initials WH #59

#199

William D. Leahy

United States admiral | ambassador to France | Chief of Staff (1875-1959)

Initials WL #21

#200

William Spencer, 2nd Baron Spencer of Wormleighton

English nobleman | politician | and peer from the Spencer family

Initials WW #46

First name WilliamOctober 23, 2026

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First name William
October 23, 2026