William is a popular given name of old Germanic origin. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of England in 1066, and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. The modern German and Polish equivalent is "Wilhelm." It is sometimes abbreviated "Wm." The name's shortened familiar version in English is Bill, Billy, Will or Willie. A common Irish form is Liam.
William is from the Norman language...
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William is a popular given name of old Germanic origin. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of England in 1066, and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. The modern German and Polish equivalent is "Wilhelm." It is sometimes abbreviated "Wm." The name's shortened familiar version in English is Bill, Billy, Will or Willie. A common Irish form is Liam.
William is from the Norman language (although Norman French was Latin-based and the proper name is Germanic) and is a cognate from the German Wilhelm, and of Germanic origin: wil = "will or desire"; helm;"helmet, protection"; thus the Old German name Wilhelm and the Old Norse name Vilhjálmr have the same roots.
The English "William" is taken from the Anglo-Norman language and was transmitted to England after the Norman Conquest in the 11th Century, and soon became the most popular name in England, along with other Norman names such as Robert (the English cognate was Hrēodbēorht...
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