Origins of the Williams surname

What does the name Williams mean?

The surname Williams is a patronymic name, given usually to the 'son of William' (also Wilhelm, or Guillaume). Although with no single family to trace this name back to, Williams is thought to originate in both England and Wales, and is the second most common surname in New Zealand, third in both Wales and the United States, and fourth in Australia.

Alternative variations of the name Williams

Williams, William, Gilliam, Guilliam, Willyams

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Delve deeper into the Williams family's history

OrkneyShetlandHighlandsWestern IslesGrampianTaysideCentralStrathclydeFifeLothianBordersDumfriesNorth East 3779North West 9915Isle of Man 168Yorkshire 6693East Midlands 1652West Midlands 10037East 4904London 29600South East 10272South West 52810South Wales 16727Mid Wales 10898West Wales 738North Wales 19147Republic of IrelandNorthern Ireland

In 1921, most Williamses lived in south-west

Census records trace your ancestors through each generation, so you can follow where your relatives lived through each decade.

350,000 Williams Travel & migration records
2,200,000 Williamses found in all Census records

Interesting facts about Williams

How common is your surname?

3rd most common surname in the UK

We have for the Williams surname. The oldest one dates back to .

Who were Williamses most likely to marry?

Our tell us which families married Williamses.

What are the most common Williams first names?

John

William

Mary

Elizabeth

Our tell us the names of Williams family members
Man with milk churns and census card collage
Census records provide incredible detail on names, ages, marital statuses, occupations and more.

Common jobs for Williamses

Men and women often performed different types of jobs, so these are displayed by gender to maintain their historical accuracy.

Commmon female occupations for Williamses in 1921

Dressmaker

11,454

Domestic Servant

6,416

General Servant Domestic

6,369

House Servant

6,140

General Servant

5,772

Commmon male occupations for Williamses in 1921

Coal Miner

15,038

Farmer

10,869

Coal Miner Hewer

7,909

General Labourer

7,610

Agricultural Labourer

7,516

We found over 1,500,000 family trees with the Williams surname

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