Williams is a surname of English origin derived from the personal name William and the genitive ending -s.[2] It is also common in Wales, where it represents an anglicization of the Welsh patronymic ap Gwilym.[3]
Williams is the second most common surname in New Zealand, the third most common in Wales and the United States, and the fourth most common in Australia.[1][4]
Earliest recorded usage
- Willam is from 1279 in Oxfordshire.[5]
- William is from 1299 in Whitby, Yorkshire.[6]
- Williames is from 1307 in Staffordshire.[7]
See also
- List of people with surname Williams
- Williams baronets
- Williams family of Caerhays and Burncoose
- Willyams
References
- ^ a b Williams given name at Forebears
- ^ Hanks, Patrick; Lenarčič, Simon; McClure, Peter, eds. (2022). "Williams". Dictionary of American Family Names (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780190245122.
- ^ Ffrancon, Rhys (26 December 2023). "Jones, Davies and Williams: What are the origins of Welsh surnames?". Retrieved 19 February 2025.
- ^ United States Census Bureau (9 May 1995). s:1990 Census Name Files dist.all.last (1-100). Retrieved on 25 February 2008.
- ^ Reaney & Wilson p.493, sourced from the Rotuli Hundredorum 1812, 1818
- ^ Reaney & Wilson p.493
- ^ Reaney & Wilson p.493, sourced from the Staffordshire Assize Rolls
- PH Reaney & RM Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames:The Standard Guide to English Surnames, Oxford University Press, 1995, ISBN 0-19-863146-4.
