William

E772

given name masculine given name

William is a common masculine given name of Germanic origin, widely used in English-speaking countries.

Try in SPARQL Jump to: Surface forms Disambiguation Statements Elicitation Referenced by

All labels observed (2)

Label	Occurrences
William canonical	2,408
William Alexander	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T3097 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: William
Context triple: [William Barton Rogers, givenName, William]

A. Howard
Howard is the middle name of Edwin H. Armstrong, the pioneering American electrical engineer and inventor of FM radio.
B. Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States, best known for leading the country through the Civil War and issuing the Emancipation Proclamation that began the process of ending slavery.
C. Andrew
Andrew is a masculine given name of Greek origin meaning "manly" or "brave," widely used in English-speaking countries and beyond.
D. John Adams
John Adams was a Founding Father of the United States who served as the nation’s second president and was a leading advocate for independence and republican government.
E. John Hancock
John Hancock was a prominent American Founding Father, revolutionary leader, and the first signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, known for his bold and iconic signature.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: William
Target entity description: William is a common masculine given name of Germanic origin, widely used in English-speaking countries.

A. Howard
Howard is the middle name of Edwin H. Armstrong, the pioneering American electrical engineer and inventor of FM radio.
B. Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States, best known for leading the country through the Civil War and issuing the Emancipation Proclamation that began the process of ending slavery.
C. Andrew
Andrew is a masculine given name of Greek origin meaning "manly" or "brave," widely used in English-speaking countries and beyond.
D. John Adams
John Adams was a Founding Father of the United States who served as the nation’s second president and was a leading advocate for independence and republican government.
E. John Hancock
John Hancock was a prominent American Founding Father, revolutionary leader, and the first signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, known for his bold and iconic signature.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (50)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	given name ⓘ masculine given name ⓘ
category	English masculine given names ⓘ Germanic given names ⓘ
cognate	Willem ⓘ surface form: Guglielmo Guillaume ⓘ Guillermo ⓘ Willem ⓘ surface form: Wilhelm Willem ⓘ
derivedFrom	Willem ⓘ surface form: Willahelm
diminutive	Bill ⓘ surface form: Billy Willy ⓘ
etymologicalComponent	helm ⓘ wil ⓘ
gender	masculine ⓘ
hasNameDayInSomeTraditions	January 10 ⓘ
hasOrigin	Germanic languages ⓘ Old High German ⓘ
hasVariant	Bill ⓘ Bill ⓘ surface form: Billy Willem ⓘ surface form: Guglielmo Guillaume ⓘ Guillermo ⓘ Liam ⓘ Willem ⓘ surface form: Vilhelm Wilhelm Bittrich ⓘ surface form: Wilhelm Will ⓘ Willem ⓘ Willy ⓘ
historicalPopularity	medieval England ⓘ
introducedToEnglandBy	Normans ⓘ
isCommonIn	Australia ⓘ Canada ⓘ English-speaking countries ⓘ New Zealand ⓘ United Kingdom ⓘ United States of America ⓘ surface form: United States
languageOfUse	Dutch ⓘ English ⓘ French ⓘ German ⓘ Scandinavian languages ⓘ
meaning	desire ⓘ helmet ⓘ protection ⓘ will ⓘ
shortForm	Bill ⓘ Liam ⓘ Will ⓘ
usageType	first name ⓘ