William

Here you will find information about the name William and the famous figures that are known with it.


1. William - Overview

The name “William” comes from the ancient German language. The name means “Determined Protector.” It has been a popular name for boys since as early as 1066 AD. Today, the name William ranks as five out of every 1200 boys, which in today’s society means it is a very popular first name. The name became popular in England as a result of the infamous William the Conqueror from Normandy.

As a first name, there are several variants of the traditional William. In fact, William has thirty-four variants! Will, Billy, Bill, and Willey are popular shortened forms of the name. Willard, Wilkes, Willem, and Wilhelm are all popular spellings of William as a first name.

Not only is William a popular first name, but it is also used quite often as a surname, as well. In 1990, 731 out of almost 9,000 people in the US had the surname of William. Popular variants as a surname are Williamson, Willard, Wilson, Willis, Williams, Wilcox, and Wilkinson.

Many famous people have had the name of William. In fact, there were four US presidents who were named William—William Harrison, William Taft, William McKinley, and William (Bill) Clinton. Playwright William Shakespeare is perhaps one of the most famous Williams in history, as his work is known the world over.

2. Celebrity Williams

The name William makes it appearance many times in the celebrity world. A currently popular William is William Hung. William Hung is infamous for his poor vocal skills. He was “discovered” by the popular American Idol television show, when he had one of the worst auditions on the show’s record. He was not accepted on the show, but his optimism and unique approach to singing made him an instant celebrity when the audition outtakes were aired. He went on to record several CDs, which have been at the top of the charts!

William Shatner of Star Trek fame is another celebrity William. He played the cavalier Captain James T. Kirk on the famous television Sci-Fi series. The series ran for three years, and in that short run sparked a cult following that was unheard of. Because of the immense popularity of the show, William Shatner went on to star in seven Star Trek movies. He currently starts on Boston Legal and several Priceline commercials.

William Cosby, better known as Bill Cosby, is a famous comedian and actor. His show, The Cosby Show was innovative in showing the black community that African American families can be stable and financially well off. Still popular today, The Cosby Show showcased the political and social aspects of the eighties with comedy and dignity. Today, Cosby is a popular speaker among African Americans, and approaches every speaking engagement with comedy and class. He frequently speaks about the need for African American kids to take education seriously and improve their lot in life. Sometimes controversial, Cosby is against the affects of affirmative action, preferring instead for African Americans to improve their own situation by strengthening family structures.

3. Famous Political Williams

Famous Political Williams The name William makes several appearances in the world of politics. There were four presidents of the United States who were named William. William Henry Harrison was America’s ninth president. He caught a cold his first month in office that developed into pneumonia, which he died of. This made him the first US president to die in office.

William McKinley makes President number two to be named William. McKinley’s presidency was spent dealing with Spanish holdings in the Western Hemisphere. He was elected to a second term, but was shot early in the term.

William Taft was another US President who carried the name. He was a man who preferred law to politics, and only held one office, for which few accomplishments are known. After leaving the office of President, William Taft was named chief justice of the United States by President Harding.

William Clinton, commonly referred to as Bill Clinton, is the fourth William that held the highest office in the country. During his presidency, the country faced economic stability, which many felt were a result of the work of presidents before him. In 1998 President Clinton faced impeachment charges because of some personal indiscretions against one of his interns. He was not found guilty.

In England, Prince William of Wales is a popular political icon. Prince William is the son of Charles, Prince of Wales, and the late Princess Diana. Prince William is next in line after Prince Charles to inherit the throne of England. Because of his youth, Prince William is a heartthrob among the young ladies of England and America both.

4. Literary Williams

Literary Williams The name William also pops up in the literary world from time to time. The most famous literary name of all time is probably William Shakespeare. Often called the greatest English writer of all time, William Shakespeare is noted as the greatest playwright of all time. He wrote plays in all genres, including tragedies, comedies, and political farces. He is also considered to be the creator of the English sonnet, a form of poetry.

While William Shakespeare was famous for his writings when he was alive, his work really became known across the world after his death. Today, Shakespeare is the most often quoted English literary person. His plays continue to be popular today perhaps due to the complex characters he used in them. While set in earlier times, the problems faced by Shakespeare’s characters span across the ages as the reach into the deepest parts of human character.

Another famous literary William is William Wordsworth. He is a famous English poet as well, who wrote during the Romantic Age. In fact, his work is often pointed to as the beginning of the Romantic Age. His most famous masterpiece is a work entitled The Prelude. This work is considered to be an autobiographical poem and talks about his early life. The work was added to throughout William Wordsworth’s life and was not published until after he died in 1850. William Wordsworth was named England’s Poet Laureate in 1843 and carried the title until his death, although he stopped writing when his daughter died in 1847.

5. Versatility

Versatility William is a particularly versatile name. There are so many different variations of the name, that you can create just about any persona around the name William. The full name, William, creates an image of a powerful presence, such as a doctor or executive. Keeping your name as William carries with it a dignity and professionalism that many people desire. The name seems to demand respect just in the way it sounds.

The more fun loving soul might choose to be called Bill. Short and sweet, Bill is a great name for a dad or a sports player. A young William might want to be called Billy.

For the more distinguished William that still wants a nickname, Will is a popular variation. Will carries the feeling of stability while not sounding quite as posh as the full version of William. Willy is a fun variation of the shortened Will.

William is a name a young guy can grow up with. As a baby, he can be a cute Billy or Willy. As he enters his teenage years he may prefer the more distinguished, yet still fashionable Will or Bill. Of course, depending on his chosen career, he may choose to be called William as an adult.

Because of the many variations of the name and the different personas that they seem to indicate, William has become a very versatile name. This might be one of the reasons for the immense popularity of the name among American males.

If you are considering naming your son William, you are choosing a good name with a rich history. Keep in mind that the name William is the fifth most popular name in the United States. Chances are your little guy will not be the only Billy in his class. But because the name is so versatile, your son will probably thank you in the future for giving him a name he can use in whatever profession he chooses.

6. Importance of an Internet Presence

If your name is William, one of the best things you can do to make yourself known in the business world is to create a striking Internet presence. Find out if you have one or not by doing a search for your name on Google. What comes up? Are you happy with the information presented about you, or do you even exist in cyberspace?

The fact is that the business world is heading more and more into a cyber world. If you want to make your way in this world, you must have a presence online. The Internet is the first place someone is going to go when looking for you and your business.

Creating an Internet presence is crucial to making your way successfully in the business world. This is particularly true for people with popular names such as William. If you are an executive, keep in mind that a quarter of your business colleagues will search for you on the Internet before you have a face to face meeting. What do you want them to see about you? Do you want them to know that you are on top of the technology game or not? If you show up on the first page of the search engine when the search for your name, they will know that you are technologically savvy!

For those who are looking for jobs, as many as half of the business recruiting agencies will do an Internet search for the name of potential hires. When talking about executive positions, this number increases to over sixty percent! It is crucial to exist in cyberspace if you want to have a competitive edge in the competitive business world! The bottom line is, if you want to become someone in the business world, you must establish an Internet presence.

7. You Must Be First!

When building an Internet presence around your name, even if it is a popular one like William, the key is to be first. This means that when someone searches for your name, they will find you on the first page of the search engine. Internet users are impatient. Even if Google brings them ten pages of valuable information, the average Internet user never goes past the first three pages. If they do not find your information at that point, they will not find you.

You can make sure that you show up right away by taking advantage of networking platforms that are highly indexed in the search engines. You can link to your personal or business websites from these types of sites. Also, sites such as ezinearticles will allow you to place links inside articles that you write for them. If someone is searching for information and finds your article, they will be directed to your site. After you get enough incoming links through articles and networking platform sites, your personal or business site will start to rise in the search engines.

Whenever you write something for the Internet, make sure that you can point the reader to the site that you are trying to push up in the search engines. As Google sees more and more links to your site, it will make its way higher and higher on their ranking system. Do not stop writing and linking to your site until you have reached the page rank you want!

Also, make sure your personal profile is listed on several top networking sites. These sites have good ranking in the search engines, and if someone is looking specifically for you, your profile will be visible on the first few pages of the search if it is placed with these sites. To find the quality sites, do a search for networking platforms. The first five sites you find are the ones you should build your profiles with.

8. How to Create an Internet Presence

How to Create an Internet Presence Because William is such a popular name, those who have it must take a few precautions when building an Internet presence to make their name stand out from the crowd. If, for example, a top level executive of a company wants to build a website for their business, and their name is to be prominent in the page, they need to make sure that when someone goes to Google to search for them, they come to the top of the search.

The first thing that needs to happen to get noticed online is to join several networking platforms. Networking platforms allow you to place a profile about yourself that others can view. The important way to get your name noticed on the Internet is to make sure that the first few sentences on your profile tell exactly who you are and what you offer the business world. The first few sentences of your profile is what will come up when someone Googles your name, so this is where you need to showcase your abilities, talents, and expertise. Whatever you want someone to see when they search for your name should show up in the first 150 characters of your networking profile.

Once you have set up several networking profiles on different sites, it is time to make your name stand out. Remember, there are many people out there named William. You need to make sure that when your name is searched on the Internet, it stands out! Consider using your entire name, or middle initial, to create something more memorable for your potential customers and clients. Do not forget to search for your name and see what comes up. Make sure it is eye catching and if not, improve the sites where your name is registered to make it so.

9. Consider Using a Blog

Consider Using a Blog A blog is a great way to create a presence on the Internet even if your name is a commonly used one, such as William. The best way to have a blog that drives traffic to yourself is to talk about something that people are interested in, but there are not thousands of blogs already discussing. Finding this type of niche can be tricky, but once you develop an Internet following, you will find that many people across the World Wide Web are discussing you and your blog. You can blog on sties such as Ecademy that automatically send your blog to Google and the other top search engines, so when someone searches for your name, up pops your blog.

The key to developing a good Internet presence around your blog is to talk like a professional. People who are looking for information on the topic you are discussing will know whether or not your blog is informed. If you can provide them with important information about the topic they are interested in, and show how you or your company can help them, you will drive traffic and customers to your company.

Creating a quality blog that hits the search engines is one of the best ways to get Internet exposure. It is surprising how quickly popular blogs gain links across the Internet. With relatively little advertising on your part, you can develop an Internet following that knows your name and looks for your posts and information whenever they hit their computers.
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