Holiday Calendar

National William Day

Next celebratedWednesday, October 28, 2026

The Williams take October 28, and the name has not once left the US top 20 for boys since annual records began in 1880. It started as a soldier's word: willo and helm, will and helmet.

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Last updated September 5, 2026 · by the Holiday Calendar TeamHave an update or spot an error?
YEARLY DATEOctober 28
OBSERVED INInternationally
CATEGORYNames
ORIGIN

Community Origin

FOUNDING ENTITY
Not documented
FIRST OBSERVED
Not documented
HOW THE HOLIDAY CAME TO BE

An ancient name, an undocumented modern day.

No documented founder, proclamation, or formal establishment record has been identified for National William Day. It circulates as a modern name-day observance on holiday-listing sites and social media, honoring everyone named William on October 28.

+ Know the story? Submit a founder Help us complete this holiday
INTRO

America's number one boys' name is a William in disguise

The most popular boys' name in America is not William. It is Liam, the Irish short form clipped from Uilliam, and it has been the country's top boys' name every year since 2017. National William Day honors a name that sits at number one in disguise.

William itself has slid down the rankings, landing at 10th place in 2024. Yet a form of it still leads, nearly a thousand years after the name first reached England. Few first names have held on that long.

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ORIGINS

William Day history

INTRODUCTION

Before it belonged to kings, William was a soldier's name. It grew out of the old Germanic name Willahelm, built from willo, a word for will or desire, and helm, a word for helmet or protection. Loosely, it meant something close to resolute protection.

The name traveled west with the Normans. In Old North French it became Willaume, a cousin of the French Guillaume, the German Wilhelm, and the Old Norse Vilhjalmr. All of them trace back to the same Proto-Germanic root.

CHAPTER 01

A name the Normans made English

William arrived in England as a conqueror's name. After the Battle of Hastings, William of Normandy took the English crown, and his Norman followers brought their names with them. Within a few generations, William had become the most common given name in the country.

It held that place for a long time, until the name John eventually overtook it. Even so, William never fell out of favor. It stayed a first choice for English families through the Middle Ages and long after.

CHAPTER 02

Across the Atlantic and onto the calendar

The name crossed the ocean with English settlers and stayed near the top of American birth records, generation after generation. Nearly a thousand years after Hastings, a version of it still sits at the very top. The name has never really left.

National William Day is the newest chapter, and the least documented one. No founder, no proclamation, and no founding year has been recorded for it. It surfaces on holiday-listing sites and social media, where people mark October 28 to celebrate everyone who carries the name.

The date is not a saint's day, and one aggregator lists the name day on February 23 instead. The observers who actually keep it, though, point to October 28.

TIMELINE

Timeline

The Conqueror takes the crown

William of Normandy is crowned King of England on Christmas Day, and his Norman followers carry the name across the Channel.

Shakespeare is born

William Shakespeare is born in Stratford-upon-Avon, the name's most famous cultural bearer.

A William returns to the throne

William III of Orange takes the English crown, ruling jointly with Mary II.

A Romantic poet arrives

William Wordsworth is born, one more William in a long line of English poets.

Liam reaches number one

Liam, the Irish form of William, becomes the top US boys' name for the first time.

A form of William still leads

Liam remains the most popular US boys' name, nearly a millennium after the Norman Conquest.

GOOD TO KNOW

Surprising facts about National William Day

A name that never leaves the top 20

Since annual US name records began in 1880, William has never once dropped out of the top 20 boys' names, a run of roughly 145 years.

Six spots on a century of names

Over the Social Security Administration's last hundred years, William is the sixth most popular boys' name, given to 3,358,163 babies in that window.

Four kings, and a fifth in waiting

Four kings of England have been named William, from the Conqueror to William IV, and Prince William is now heir to the British throne.

A furniture style bears the name

The William and Mary style of furniture is named for the joint monarchs William III and Mary II, who reigned from 1689.

One root, a crowd of nicknames

William branches into Will, Bill, Billy, and Willie, plus full-name variants like Guillaume, Wilhelm, and Gwilym.

WHY THIS DAY MATTERS

Why We Love National William Day

ENDURANCE

Most names fade within a generation. This one never did.

Most given names rise and fall within a generation or two. William has stayed in common use for nearly a thousand years, outlasting every shift in fashion.

TRADITION

It brings a European custom into English

On Nordic calendars, the William form Vilhelm has long carried its own name day. October 28 gives English speakers a similar reason to honor everyone who shares the name.

IDENTITY

It gives a common name its own day

A birthday celebrates one person, but a name day celebrates something millions share at once. National William Day turns an ordinary first name into a shared occasion for every Will, Bill, and Billy.

GET INVOLVED

How to Celebrate National William Day

EDITOR'S PICK

Reach out to a William in your life

Call, text, or visit a William, Bill, Will, or Liam you know. A name day is a ready-made reason to tell them they crossed your mind.

LOOK

Look up what your name means

Trace William back to its Germanic roots, or dig into the history of your own first name. Free etymology sites turn up origins that are often older and stranger than people expect.

SHARE

Share a favorite famous William

Post about a William whose work you admire, from a favorite author to a beloved grandfather. Ask friends which Williams have mattered most in their own lives.

HOST

Host a gathering for the Williams you know

Invite the Wills, Bills, and Liams in your circle over for coffee or dinner. Shared meals have long been the simplest way to mark a name day.

TRACE

Trace your family's Williams

Ask older relatives or search old records for the Williams in your family tree. The name is common enough that most families turn up at least one.

Test your knowledge

How well do you know National William Day?

1 / 8

The name William joins two old Germanic words. What do they mean?

Answer

No. It is an unofficial name-day observance, not a federal or public holiday, so schools, banks, and offices stay open on October 28.

COLOPHON

Sources

How we know what’s on this page. References, not endorsements.

9sources
5primary records
3independently dated
Primary records
U.S. Social Security Administration2024
Top Names Over the Last 100 Years
Ranks the most common US baby names across the past century, with totals.
View source
U.S. Social Security Administration2024
Top 5 Names in Each of the Last 100 Years
Year-by-year list of the five most popular US boys' and girls' names.
View source
U.S. Social Security Administration2025-05-09
Olivia and Liam Remain Most Popular Baby Names for 2024
Announces the 2024 top-ten baby names, with Liam first and William tenth.
View source
The Royal Family
William I 'The Conqueror' (r. 1066-1087)
Official biography of the Norman king crowned in England on Christmas Day 1066.
View source
The Royal Family
The Prince of Wales
Official page for Prince William, the current heir to the British throne.
View source
Additional coverage
Behind the Name
William
Traces the name's Germanic origin, meaning, and long run near the top of US charts.
View source
Online Etymology Dictionary
William (name origin and meaning)
Etymology of William, its Norman forms, and the William and Mary style.
View source
Wikipedia
William (given name)
Overview of the name's roots, variants, nicknames, and spread after 1066.
View source
NameCalendar
Vilhelm: Name Day
Lists the Nordic name-day dates for Vilhelm, the Scandinavian form of William.
View source
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