UK boy's name
Guilherme
A masculine Portuguese name of Germanic origin meaning "wilful protector".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Guilherme is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Guilherme popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #5119, with 3 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2015, with 18 births.
This profile covers 201 England and Wales registrations across 24 recorded years from 1998 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 17% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 200 living people in the UK are called Guilherme. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Guilherme ranked #5119 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 3 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2015, when 18 boys were registered as Guilherme.
- • About 200 living people in the UK are estimated to have Guilherme as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#5119
2024
Births in 2024
3
Latest year
Peak year
2015
18 births
Estimated living
200
2026
Meaning
What does Guilherme mean?
Guilherme is a masculine given name of Portuguese origin, derived from the Germanic name Willahelm, which is a combination of two elements: "wil" meaning "will" or "desire," and "helm" meaning "protection" or "helmet." The name can be traced back to the Middle Ages, around the 12th century.
The name Guilherme became popular in Portugal during the Medieval period, particularly after the birth of King Afonso Henriques, the first King of Portugal. His mother, Countess Teresa of Portugal, had a close advisor named Guilherme de Montrior, who played a significant role in the formation of the Kingdom of Portugal. This association likely contributed to the name's widespread use among the Portuguese nobility.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Guilherme can be found in the "Cantigas de Santa Maria," a collection of 420 poems and songs written in Galician-Portuguese during the reign of King Alfonso X of Castile and Leon (1221-1284). The name appears in several of these cantigas, indicating its use in the 13th century.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Guilherme. One of the most famous was William the Conqueror (c. 1028-1087), the first Norman King of England, whose French name was Guillaume. Another prominent figure was William of Ockham (c. 1287-1347), an English Franciscan friar and philosopher known for his principle of parsimony, often referred to as "Occam's Razor."
In Portugal, Guilherme de Valença (c. 1225-1279) was a prominent Catholic priest and the first Archbishop of Valencia, Spain. Guilherme Gonzaga (c. 1532-1587) was an Italian nobleman and military leader who served as the first Duke of Mantua and Montferrat. Also noteworthy is Guilherme de Nassau (1533-1584), known as William the Silent, who was a prominent leader in the Dutch Revolt against Spanish rule and is considered the founder of the Netherlands.
Other historical figures with the name Guilherme include Guilherme de Machaut (c. 1300-1377), a renowned medieval French poet and composer, and Guilherme IV (1765-1837), the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 1830 until his death.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Guilherme over time
The chart below shows babies named Guilherme registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1998 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Guilherme, the clearest high point is 2015. The latest England and Wales figure is 3 births in 2024, compared with 18 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Guilherme by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Guilherme was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #2903 | 38 | 5 |
| 2010s | #2240 | 101 | 10 |
| 2000s | #2235 | 59 | 8 |
| 1990s | #2901 | 3 | 1 |
Related
Names similar to Guilherme
- George 121,258
- Gabriel 20,581
- Grayson 7,636
- Gregory 2,925
- Guy 2,646
- Gareth 2,092
- Gethin 1,880
- Georgie 1,872
- Gary 1,575
- Gavin 1,422
- Giovanni 1,252
- Grant 1,199
FAQ
Guilherme: questions and answers
How popular is the name Guilherme in the UK right now?
In 2024, Guilherme was ranked #5119 for boys in England and Wales, with 3 births registered.
When was Guilherme most popular?
The peak year on record was 2015, with 18 babies registered as Guilherme in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Guilherme?
A masculine Portuguese name of Germanic origin meaning "wilful protector".
How many people are called Guilherme in the UK?
A total of 201 babies have been registered as Guilherme across the 24 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.