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William is a masculine given name of French origin. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of England in 1066, [2] and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is sometimes abbreviated "Wm." Shortened familiar versions in English include Will, Wills, Willy, Willie, Liam, Bill, Billie ...
The meaning is derived from son or descendant of William, the Northern French form that also gave the English name William. Derived from an Old French given name with Germanic elements; will = desire, will; and helm = helmet, protection. [3] It can be an Anglicised form of the Dutch surname Willems. It is the second most common surname in New ...
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Most members of the royal family go by their official titles, like the late Queen Elizabeth and her grandson Prince William. But you might be surprised to learn that they were also given middle ...
The Norman Conquest had a dramatic effect on English names. Many if not most Saxon names, such as Ethelred, died out under the massive influx of French ones. Since the Royal Court now rang with names such as Alain, Guy, Reginald and William, [4] they were quickly adopted by the English, the Welsh, and eventually the Irish. [citation needed]
Billy is a given name and a common nickname for William. A spelling variant is Billie. Notable people with the name include: Billy the Kid (1859–1881), American Old West gunfighter born Henry McCarty, also known as William H. Bonney; Billy Baldwin (decorator) (1903–1983), American interior decorator
The meanings of these words do not always correspond to Germanic cognates, and occasionally the specific meaning in the list is unique to English. Those Germanic words listed below with a Frankish source mostly came into English through Anglo-Norman, and so despite ultimately deriving from Proto-Germanic, came to English through a Romance ...
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