Gwilym
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- GWIL-im
- Origin
- Germanic
- UK rank, 2025
- #1,423 for boys
Gwilym is a boys' name of Germanic origin, meaning “will and helmet”. In 2025 it ranked 1,423rd for boys in the UK (20 babies).
What does Gwilym mean?
Germanic: Welsh form of William
“will and helmet”
Welsh form of William, from Germanic elements meaning will or desire and helmet or protection.
Is Gwilym a girl's or a boy's name?
Gwilym is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 20 boys in the UK. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Gwilym in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 1,423rd among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 20 about 1 in 15,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steady down 19% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 20 boys in the UK were named Gwilym, making it the 1,423rd most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,317th. Its busiest year was 2015, with 23 boys.
2025 had more boys named Gwilym than any year since 2020.
Half of all the boys named Gwilym in the UK since 1996 were born between 2005 and 2019. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier boys aren't counted.
Among boys in 2025, it was 1,358th in England and Wales.
Gwilym in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 20 | #1,423 |
| 2024 | 16 | #1,664 |
| 2023 | 11 | #2,155 |
| 2022 | 16 | #1,639 |
| 2021 | 17 | #1,547 |
| 2020 | 21 | #1,317 |
| 2019 | 20 | #1,351 |
| 2018 | 17 | #1,555 |
| 2017 | 11 | #2,174 |
| 2016 | 19 | #1,458 |
| 2015 | 23 | #1,237 |
| 2014 | 14 | #1,743 |
| 2013 | 16 | #1,560 |
| 2012 | 13 | #1,850 |
| 2011 | 19 | #1,385 |
| 2010 | 17 | #1,508 |
| 2009 | 15 | #1,582 |
| 2008 | 8 | #2,384 |
| 2007 | 11 | #1,848 |
| 2006 | 14 | #1,487 |
| 2005 | 11 | #1,701 |
| 2004 | 11 | #1,583 |
| 2003 | 10 | #1,608 |
| 2002 | 9 | #1,594 |
| 2001 | 12 | #1,283 |
| 2000 | 15 | #1,057 |
| 1999 | 9 | #1,451 |
| 1998 | 10 | #1,346 |
| 1997 | 9 | #1,412 |
| 1996 | 13 | #1,083 |
Names like Gwilym
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Albie, Frederick, Henry, Otis, Hugo, Reggie, Robin, Otto, Albert, Grayson, Freddie, Louie
More Germanic names
Amelia, Liam, Charlotte, William, Archie, Charlie, Emma, Ella, Harry, Millie, Matilda, Miles, Alice, Myles, Charles, Lottie
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland) and Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Gwilym: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/gwilym, updated 20 October 2026.