Liam

Irish short form of William

"resolute protection"

Liam Origin and Meaning

The name Liam is a boy's name of Irish origin meaning "resolute protection".

Liam is the top boys' name in the US, holding the Number 1 spot for the past seven years and also ranking as one of the most popular boys' names around the western world.

Liam originated as a short form of Uilliam, the Irish variation of William. William is an English name from Germanic roots that was brought to Ireland when the British fled England following the Norman Conquest. The Irish began using English names, including William, which led to the development of Uilliam and its short form, Liam.

Internationally, Liam is enjoying great popularity not only in the U.S. and its native Ireland, but in countries as diverse as Italy and Israel, Chile and Croatia. If you're looking for a boys' name that will easily translate across many languages and cultures, you can't do better than Liam.

Irish-born actor Liam Neeson was instrumental in driving Liam up the charts, as was former Oasis member Liam (born William) Gallagher, and, more recently, One Direction member Liam Payne. Celebrities who have chosen Liam for their sons include Tori Spelling, Calista Flockhart, Rod Stewart, Kevin Costner and Craig Ferguson.

Jaunty and richly textured, Liam holds solidly to the title of most popular boys' name starting with the letter L.

Liam Rank in US Top 1000

# 1 in the US

Liam Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 21 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Liam

• 1 US 2023
• 21 Nameberry 2025
• 2 Canada 2023
• 8 Future 2035
• 71 England 2023
• 47 Scotland 2024
• 8 Ireland 2024
• 23 Australia 2024
• 23 New Zealand 2024
• 11 France 2023
• 11 Germany 2024
• 4 Netherlands 2024
• 32 Italy 2023
• 15 Spain 2023
• 37 Mexico 2021
• 4 Sweden 2024
• 9 Norway 2024
• 28 Denmark 2023
• 3 Belgium 2023
• 2 Switzerland 2023
• 19 Austria 2023
• 85 Poland 2024
• 7 Slovenia 2023
• 32 Israel 2023
• 6 Argentina 2021
• 3 Chile 2023
• 84 Bosnia and Herzegovina 2023
• 33 Croatia 2023

20 Names Similar to Liam

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Liam.

• Noah
• Lucas
• Eli
• Levi
• Ethan
• Logan
• Elijah
• Caleb
• Owen
• Aiden
• Luke
• Aidan
• Asher
• Luca
• Mason
• Miles
• Connor
• Jackson
• Leo
• Dylan

Famous People Named Liam

• Liam John Neeson Irish actor
• Liam Hemsworth Australian actor
• Liam James Payne English singer of group One Direction
• Liam Cosgrave former Taoiseach (Prime Minister of Ireland)
• Liam Fox British politician; former Secretary of State for Defense
• Liam Brady Irish footballer
• Liam Padraic Aiken American actor
• Liam Cunningham Irish actor
• Liam Dryden Scottish internet personality, actor, and musician
• William John Paul "Liam" Gallagher English singer
• Liam James Canadian actor
• Liam Lynch (born William Patrick Niederst) American musician and writer
• Liam Aylward Irish politician
• Liam Dominic Byrne British politician
• Liam McIntyre Australian actor
• Liam Christopher O'Brien American actor
• Liam O'Flaherty Irish novelist
• William "Liam" Clancy Irish folk singer
• Liam Mullane Finn New Zealand singer,songwriter
• Liam Garrigan English actor
• Liam Howlett English composer, DJ, and record producer
• Liam Patrick McKenna Irish singer and TV personality
• Liam Thomas O'Donnell American actor
• Liam Kyle Sullivan American comedian, actor, and musician
• Liam Jones Australian rules footballer
• Liam Waite (born Liam Owen East) American actor
• Liam Andrew Wright English film director
• Liam Wilson American bassist
• Liam Walker Dunaway O'Neill (b. 1980) son of actress Faye Dunaway
• Liam McAlister Stewart (b. 1994) son of singer Rod Stewart
• Liam Timothy Costner (b. 1996) son of actor Kevin Costner and Bridget Rooney
• Liam Flockhart (b. 2001) son of actors Calista Flockhart and Harrison Ford
• Liam Erixon (b. 2002) son of singer Jessica Andersson and Jonas Erixon
• Liam Golan (b. 2003) son of singer Eyal Golan and beauty queen Ilanit Levi
• Liam Aaron McDermott (b. 2007) son of actors Tori Spelling & Dean McDermott
• Liam Lucca (adopted 2007) son of singer Tony Lucca
• Liam Knight (b. 2008) son of actor Wayne Knight
• Liam Allen Peterson (b. 2010) son of TV personalities Emily McKenzie and Daniel Peterson of "16 and Pregnant"
• Liam James Ferguson (b. 2011) son of TV personality Craig Ferguson
• Liam Weatherly (b. 2013) son of actor Michael Weatherly
• Liam Choupo Moting (b. 2013), son of footballer Eric Maxim Choupo,Moting
• Liam da Silva (b. 2015) son of footballer Marcelo
• Liam Henri Hartmut Prince of Nassau (b.2016), son of Prince Félix and Princess Claire of Luxembourg.
• Liam Parker (b. 2016) son of French pro basketball player Tony Parker
• Liam James Tell (b.2017) son of personality Lauren Conrad.
• Liam Patrick Heneghan YouTube gamer
• Liam Charles Antetokounmpo (b. 2020) son of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Mariah Riddlesprigger

The name Liam in Pop Culture

• Liam Stewart character in Alexandra Bracken's series "The Darkest Minds"
• Liam Lupo character on TV's "Switched at Birth"
• Liam birth name of Angel, character on TV's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel"
• Liam Fergus Beircheart Gallagher character on TV's "Shameless"
• Liam Moore character on TV's "Crossing Jordan"
• Liam the Leprechaun character on YouTube show "Annoying Orange"
• Liam Bernal character in Lisa M. Stasse's series "The Forsaken"
• Liam Dunbar character on TV's "Teen Wolf"
• Liam Booker character on MTV's "Faking It"
• Liam Kinney character in Marissa Meyer's series "The Lunar Chronicles"
• Liam Butcher character on British soap "EastEnders"
• Liam Jones brother of Captain Hook on TV's "Once Upon a Time"
• Liam Kosta character in the game "Mass Effect: Andromeda"
• Liam O' Brien a character in the game "Assassin's Creed: Rogue"
• Liam de Lioncourt character in "Monster Prom"
• Liam Cole character in CBS' Salvation