Williams

Last seen for girls in 1981 at #10,411 · #3,036 for boys in 2025, 40 births
Given to boys 99.6% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · boys
1887 · 13 births
Debut · boys
11 births
In top 100 · boys
never
of 146 years
Total births · boys
6,126
since 1880

Williams over time

boys

Rank among boys' names. Williams has never cracked the top 400 here.

#1#10#100#1,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201896peak #488, 1887boys
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.

Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.

Show data table
Yeargirlsboys
rankbirthsrankbirths
2025—#3,03640
2024—#2,52753
2023—#2,38757
2022—#3,05340
2021—#2,73246
2020—#3,07437
2019—#2,76645
2018—#2,47252
2017—#2,84042
2016—#3,16136
2015—#2,68445
2014—#2,98538
2013—#2,84840
2012—#2,59447
2011—#2,66345
2010—#3,12836
2009—#2,32056
2008—#2,03968
2007—#2,13963
2006—#2,22157
2005—#2,23753
2004—#2,20852
2003—#1,98758
2002—#1,83262
2001—#1,77763
2000—#2,08748
1999—#1,85853
1998—#2,15742
1997—#1,93347
1996—#1,93346
1995—#2,55629
1994—#1,73451
1993—#1,53959
1992—#1,62154
1991—#1,79844
1990—#1,33669
1989—#1,89139
1988—#1,61844
1987—#1,50647
1986—#1,53543
1985—#1,79433
1984—#1,65635
1983—#1,71133
1982—#1,44144
1981#10,4115#1,89929
1980#10,3925#1,61936
1979—#1,71133
1978—#1,53737
1977—#1,82328
1976—#1,34643
1975—#1,34542
1974#6,9007#1,24445
1973—#1,48533
1972—#1,21046
1971—#1,07058
1970—#1,33739
1969—#1,07552
1968—#1,10046
1967—#1,10245
1966—#1,07347
1965—#1,00054
1964—#1,12646
1963—#1,01256
1962—#1,14745
1961—#94066
1960—#1,05853
1959—#99360
1958#4,8907#99459
1957—#93665
1956—#97758
1955—#84775
1954—#1,05250
1953—#1,01551
1952—#1,06646
1951—#93456
1950—#74186
1949—#85664
1948—#89159
1947—#90060
1946—#81964
1945—#92748
1944—#86154
1943—#94350
1942—#90054
1941—#92547
1940—#71173
1939—#86750
1938—#86951
1937—#81357
1936—#97241
1935—#77164
1934—#83656
1933—#98042
1932—#84157
1931—#85855
1930—#73874
1929—#86958
1928—#80666
1927—#80568
1926—#79368
1925—#99847
1924—#84965
1923—#93054
1922—#95853
1921—#98151
1920—#77573
1919—#1,00945
1918—#89455
1917—#98244
1916—#84055
1915—#84653
1914—#78845
1913—#1,11221
1912—#78331
1911—#66722
1910—#78215
1909—#59020
1908—#61318
1907—#81511
1906—#70912
1905—#69912
1904—#58715
1903—#7839
1902—#68711
1901—#63711
1900—#64915
1899—#7149
1898—#63512
1897—#55614
1896—#7789
1895—#68510
1894—#59412
1893—#8367
1892—#49716
1891—#7667
1890—#62910
1889—#8786
1888—#7049
1887—#48813
1886—#51213
1885—#57711
1884—#57011
1883—#49713
1882—#7547
1881—#7067
1880—#57111
First appearance
1880

In the first year the SSA published name data, Williams was already there! It came in at #571, and was given to 11 baby boys.


Quietest stretch: 1888–1889, when fewer than 10 boys a year got the name.

Where Williams is popular in 1896

The SSA only publishes names by state from 1910 on.

See more about Williams
Momentum · boys
Holding steady
  • 509 spots since 2024 (#2,527 → #3,036)
  • 38 spots since 2020 (#3,074 → #3,036)
  • 352 spots since 2015 (#2,684 → #3,036)
  • Biggest jump: 324 spots in 1914 (#1,112 → #788)
  • Biggest drop: 339 spots in 1893 (#497 → #836)
Rise & fade · boys
7 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1880
  • Peaked 1887 at #488 (13 births)
  • Births halved by 1889, 2 yrs later
Top of the charts · boys
Top 1,000 for 77 yrs
  • Top 10: never
  • Top 100: never
  • Top 1,000: 77 yrs · run 1880–1912
Share of babies · boys
1 in 7,627
  • Highest: 1 in 7,627 boys born in 1892 were named Williams (0.01%)
  • Latest: 1 in 42,702 boys born in 2025 (0.00%)
  • Its best rank, #488 in 1887, was only 1 in 7,801 (0.01%) — a smaller share of a much bigger birth year
Era · boys
The 1950s
  • 9.9% of all boys named Williams (606) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1880s101#488 (1887)#626
1890s106#497 (1892)#669
1900s134#587 (1904)#677
1910s386#667 (1911)#870
1920s603#775 (1920)#876
1930s547#738 (1930)#855
1940s573#711 (1940)#873
1950s606#741 (1950)#956
1960s510#940 (1961)#1,063
1970s404#1,070 (1971)#1,411
1980s383#1,441 (1982)#1,667
1990s494#1,336 (1990)#1,847
2000s580#1,777 (2001)#2,085
2010s426#2,472 (2018)#2,814
2020s273#2,387 (2023)#2,802

All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 boys in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.

Williams in 1896

boys
#778
9 births · 1 in 13,285 boys

Top boys' names in 1896

  1. #1John8,138
  2. #2William7,747
  3. #3James5,206
  4. #4George4,286
  5. #5Charles3,639
  6. #6Joseph3,051
  7. #7Frank2,845
  8. #8Robert2,719
  9. #9Edward2,296
  10. #10Henry2,183
  11. #778Williams9
More about 1896

boys

119,565 boys got a published name in 1896; 1 in 13,285 of them was named Williams, which outranked 38.5% of the 1,266 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 35.2% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Williams
  1. #722Travis10
  2. #722Westley10
  3. #722Willam10
  4. #778Williams9
  5. #778Alf9
  6. #778Arley9
  7. #778Artie9
  8. #826Algie8
  9. #826Arlington8
  10. #826Asbury8

Tied with 47 names at #778; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1895
Risers
  1. ↑ 533Hobert#795 → #262
  2. ↑ 528Cicero#1,079 → #551
  3. ↑ 528Earley#1,079 → #551
  4. ↑ 516Tomas#978 → #462
  5. ↑ 492Bryant#872 → #380
Fallers
  1. ↓ 572Talmage#529 → #1,101
  2. ↓ 545Bernie#556 → #1,101
  3. ↓ 545Mathias#556 → #1,101
  4. ↓ 522Orlando#579 → #1,101
  5. ↓ 522Rogers#579 → #1,101

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

See the top 100 for 1896 →