Boy names that start with W
W is the most English letter in the alphabet of names. Nearly every W name in wide American use was a place or a trade before it was a person — Weston is a farmstead, Walker is a cloth-worker, Winslow is a hill. Six of them sit in the current U.S. top 100, led by William at #9 and Wyatt at #38, and behind them stands a second rank of German, Dutch and Polish W names that almost no American has tried.
Most popular W names right now
Ranks are current U.S. Social Security positions. These six are the only W names in the top 100.
- #9WilliamWIL-yumGermanic
Resolute protector; will joined to helmet or defence. Four kings of England have borne it, and it is the steadiest name in the language.
- #38WyattWY-utEnglish
Brave in war; hardy in battle. A medieval English surname that the American West, and Wyatt Earp, turned into a first name.
- #52WesleyWESS-leeEnglish
The western meadow. Carried around the world by John Wesley, who founded Methodism.
- #55WestonWESS-tunEnglish
The western farmstead. A place name that reads as a surname and wears like one.
- #56WaylonWAY-lunEnglish
From Wayland, the legendary smith of Germanic myth; also land beside the road. Waylon Jennings made it country music's own.
- #78WalkerWAW-kerEnglish
A fuller of cloth; one who treads wool. An occupational surname with a long stride.
Classic W names
- WalterWAWL-turGermanic
Ruler of the army; commander of the host. Walter Scott and Walt Whitman; the short form has aged better than the long one.
- WarrenWOR-inEnglish
A game park or breeding enclosure, and also a Norman place name. Mid-century, presidential, quietly ready again.
- WayneWAYNEnglish
Wagon-maker, carter. Pulled into first-name use by John Wayne, who was born Marion Morrison.
- WallaceWAH-lissScottish
Foreigner, stranger — specifically a Welshman or Briton. William Wallace made it a Scottish banner.
- WilburWIL-burGermanic
Traditionally glossed as will, desire joined to fortress, stronghold. Wilbur Wright was the elder of the two brothers.
- WilfredWIL-fredOld English
Desire for peace; one who wills peace. Borne by an Anglo-Saxon saint and by the war poet Wilfred Owen.
- WilsonWIL-sunEnglish
Son of Will, which is to say son of William. A surname-first name with a president behind it.
- WinstonWIN-stunEnglish
Friend's settlement or enclosure. Inseparable from Churchill, and no worse for it.
- WoodrowWOOD-rohEnglish
The row of houses by a wood. Woodrow Wilson made it a given name; Woody is the way in.
- WinslowWINZ-lohEnglish
Wine's hill. The painter Winslow Homer is the reason the name is remembered at all.
- WilmerWIL-merEnglish
Famous will. A Victorian survivor that never made much noise.
- WadeWAYDEnglish
At the ford; also, plainly, to go, to advance. Short, southern and unfussy.
Unique W names
- WilderWYL-derEnglish
Wild, untamed, from a Middle English nickname. The boldest of the surname names, and the one that sounds like a promise.
- WhitakerWIT-uh-kerEnglish
White field. Long, patrician, and shortens neatly to Whit.
- WeldonWEL-dunEnglish
The hill with a spring. An English place name still waiting to be discovered.
- WolfWUULFGermanic
The animal, used across Germanic Europe as an emblem of courage. Also a Jewish name, the counterpart of Hebrew Zev.
- WolfgangVOLF-gahngGerman
Wolf path; one who travels with the wolf. Mozart's first name, and a tenth-century saint's.
- WolframVOLF-rahmGerman
Wolf-raven, two war animals in one word. Wolfram von Eschenbach wrote Parzival.
- WillemVIL-emDutch
Resolute protector; the Dutch William, and the name of the reigning Dutch king.
- WouterWOW-terDutch
Ruler of the army. The Dutch Walter, and much more common there than here.
- WojciechVOY-chekhPolish
Consoling warrior; solace of the fighting men. The birth name of St Adalbert, patron of Poland.
- Władysławvwah-DIH-swahfPolish
Glorious ruler; glory in ruling. Several Polish kings carried it, and the short form is Władek.
- WynWINWelsh
White, fair, blessed — the form gwyn takes inside a name. One syllable of Welsh.
- WeiWAYChinese
Depends entirely on the character: 伟 great, 威 power, 卫 to guard. One of the commonest given names in China.
- WoojinWOO-jinKorean
Depends on the hanja: often 宇 cosmos or 佑 to protect, joined to 珍 treasure or 鎭 steady.