Liam, the Irish shortened form of the name William, is ultimately derived from the Old German elements willo, meaning "will" or "desire," and helm, meaning "protection" or "helmet." Therefore, the name translates to "desire to protect" or "willed protection." Liam first appeared in the Social Security Administration's top 1,000 for boy names in 1967, but didn't grow popular until the late-1990s. It went from ranking 360th in 1994 to 98th in 2006 and has now been the No. 1 most popular boy's name every year since 2017. It's the name "Laguna Beach" alum Lauren Conrad gave her son Liam James, born in 2017, and the name "Beverly Hills, 90210" alum Tori Spelling chose for her eldest son Liam Aaron, born in 2007.
