Will

Diminutive of William
"resolute protector"

Will Origin and Meaning

The name Will is a boy's name of English origin meaning "resolute protector".

Will has definitely replaced Bill, not only as a nickname for William but as a stand-alone name as well, partly thanks to England's Prince William, also known as Wills.

Will has a nice old-fashioned, down-home charm, and with recent references such as Will Smith, Good Will Hunting, and Will and Grace, it has taken on an air of understated cool.

Most celebrities known as Will were christened William—Shakespeare, legendary humorist Rogers, cartoonist Eisner, and actor Arnett—but others were not. Will Smith was born Willard and Will Ferrell was originally John William.

A key character on Glee was Will Schuester.

# 947 in the US

Will Rank in US Top 1000

# 1039 on Nameberry

Will Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Will Popularity

Famous People Named Will

  • William Penn Adair "Will" Rogers
    American actor and comedian
  • Willard Carroll "Will" Smith
    American actor and rapper
  • John William "Will" Ferrell
    American actor and comedian
  • William Emerson "Will" Arnett
    American actor
  • William Rankin "Will" Patton
    American actor
  • William Donald "Will" Grigg
    Northern Irish footballer
  • William Robert "Will" Young
    English singer,songwriter
  • William Nuschler "Will" Clark
    American baseball player
  • Orville Willis "Will" Forte
    American actor and comedian
  • Will Geer (born William Aughe Ghere)
    American actor
  • William David "Will" Johnson
    Canadian soccer player
  • William Jack "Will" Poulter
    English actor
  • William Woodard "Will" Self
    English novelist
  • Wilbur H. "Will" Jennings
    American songwriter
  • William "Will" Champion
    English drummer of band Coldplay
  • William Harrison "Will" Hays
    American politician who enacted the Hays Code
  • Will Allen
    American NFL player
  • William "Will" Sasso
    Candian actor and comedian
  • William Ballard "Will" Hurd
    U.S. Congressman from Texas

Will in Pop Culture

  • William "Will" Halstead
    character on TV's Chicago Med.
  • Will Hunting
    main character in film "Good Will Hunting"
  • William "Will" Truman
    character on TV's Will and Grace
  • William "Will" Turner
    a main character in the Pirates of the Caribbean films
  • Will Graham
    character on TV's Hannibal
  • Will
    character in the Divergent trilogy
  • Will Scarlet
    one of Robin Hood's Merry Men
  • William Harold Ryan "Will" Munson
    character in American soap opera, As The World Turns
  • Wilbur "Will" Trent
    character in the series by Karin Slaughter
  • William Michael "Will" Schuester
    character on TV's "Glee"
  • Will Parry
    character in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy
  • William "Will" Herondale
    character in the Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare
  • Will Solace
    character in the 'Heroes of Olympus' series (Rick Riordan)
  • William "Will" Lawson
    character in the novel "Cursed" by Elise Noble
  • Will Treaty
    main character in John Flanagan's series "Ranger's Apprentice"
  • Will Brian
    character in "Sufficiently Remarkable"
  • Will Tippin
    character on TV's Alias
  • Will Grayson
    name shared by the main characters in John Green and David Levithan's Will Grayson, Will Grayson
  • Will
    character on TV's "The Fosters"
  • Will Byers
    a character on TV's "Stranger Things"
  • Will Belmont
    a character on TV's "Scream"
  • Will Lamontagne
    character on TV's "Criminal Minds"
  • Will Younger
    character in film "How It Ends"
  • Will Munson
    character on "X,Men"
  • Wilhelmina/Wilma "Will" Vandom
    female Guardian of Quintessence in "W.I.T.C.H" series
  • Will Mystery
    researcher of Fantasy lands in the Thea Stilton books
  • Will Benjamin
    character on TV's "H2O: Just Add Water"
  • Will
    character in the Pokémon video game series