The name William comes from the Germanic name Willehelm, which is composed of the Germanic elements willo, meaning "will" or "desire," and helm, meaning "protection" or "helmet." Therefore, William translates to "willed protection" or "desire to protection." It's one of the few names to appear in the Social Security Administration's top-20 every year since 1900, despite never ranking as the No. 1 most popular boy's name. It's also the name hip-hop artist Rick Ross gave his son William Roberts III, born in 2005, and the name actor Billy Crudup gave his son William Atticus Parker, born in 2004.
