Fun Facts About the Name Liam
- An all-time favorite: U.S. records show 358,358 boys named Liam from 1880 through 2025.
- A newer favorite: Liam first entered the U.S. top 100 in 2006 and stayed there through 2025 - a run of 20 consecutive years.
- More than 358 thousand babies named Liam: U.S. records list 358,905 babies given the name Liam from 1880 through 2025. Even 547 girls received the name Liam - about 1 girl for every 655 boys.
What Does the Name Liam Mean?
Liam is an Irish short form of Uilliam, the Irish adaptation of William. The name it comes from is a Germanic compound of two elements: *wiljô, meaning "will" or "desire," and *helmaz, meaning "helmet" or "protection." Read literally, the compound means something like "will-helmet" or "desire-protection." The customary English rendering of that compound is "resolute protector," and that is the sense usually given for Liam today.
Liam does not have a separate root or meaning of its own; it carries the meaning of the Germanic name behind William. The Irish language is where the shortened form took shape, while the name's etymology belongs to the Germanic branch. The form is also used as an independent given name, not only as a familiar shortening.
Liam Name History & Origins
The Germanic name that became William traveled across medieval Europe in several shapes: Willahelm and Wilhelm in German, Guillaume in French, and William in English. When the name was taken into Irish, it was adapted as Uilliam. Liam developed from that Irish form as a shortened, familiar version.
For a long time Liam was chiefly an Irish name. Emigration from Ireland, particularly to the United States and Britain, carried it outside Ireland. In the United States it remained uncommon for much of the twentieth century and then rose quickly in the late twentieth century; it reached the top of the Social Security Administration's yearly list of most popular boys' names in 2017 and has held that position in the years since. In Ireland and Northern Ireland, Liam has also ranked among the most frequently given boys' names in recent decades.
How Popular is the Name Liam?
Liam recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2024. Liam entered the top 100 U.S. boy names in 2006.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #4,829 | 28 | 0.0017% |
| 2024 | #4,239 | 34 | 0.0021% |
| 2023 | #4,615 | 30 | 0.0019% |
| 2022 | #5,103 | 26 | 0.0016% |
| 2021 | #4,566 | 30 | 0.0018% |
| 2020 | #4,229 | 33 | 0.0020% |
| 2019 | #4,611 | 30 | 0.0018% |
| 2018 | #5,397 | 24 | 0.0014% |
| 2017 | #3,960 | 38 | 0.0022% |
| 2016 | #6,571 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 2015 | #6,151 | 21 | 0.0012% |
| 2014 | #4,512 | 32 | 0.0018% |
| 2013 | #5,936 | 22 | 0.0013% |
| 2012 | #5,813 | 23 | 0.0013% |
| 2011 | #8,939 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2010 | #6,085 | 22 | 0.0012% |
| 2009 | #6,452 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 2008 | #10,488 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2007 | #10,538 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2006 | #10,321 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2005 | #11,447 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2004 | #7,658 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2003 | #6,775 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 2000 | #8,332 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1999 | #10,958 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1995 | #11,221 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1 | 20,818 | 1.2188% |
| 2024 | #1 | 22,164 | 1.2921% |
| 2023 | #1 | 20,886 | 1.2224% |
| 2022 | #1 | 20,563 | 1.1788% |
| 2021 | #1 | 20,407 | 1.1673% |
| 2020 | #1 | 19,858 | 1.1511% |
| 2019 | #1 | 20,622 | 1.1499% |
| 2018 | #1 | 19,974 | 1.1002% |
| 2017 | #1 | 18,865 | 1.0196% |
| 2016 | #2 | 18,272 | 0.9631% |
| 2015 | #2 | 18,407 | 0.9606% |
| 2014 | #2 | 18,484 | 0.9625% |
| 2013 | #3 | 18,153 | 0.9598% |
| 2012 | #6 | 16,823 | 0.8870% |
| 2011 | #15 | 13,449 | 0.7082% |
| 2010 | #30 | 10,932 | 0.5698% |
| 2009 | #49 | 8,567 | 0.4320% |
| 2008 | #75 | 5,980 | 0.2931% |
| 2007 | #89 | 5,141 | 0.2477% |
| 2006 | #98 | 4,514 | 0.2196% |
| 2005 | #104 | 4,152 | 0.2079% |
| 2004 | #112 | 3,827 | 0.1928% |
| 2003 | #114 | 3,565 | 0.1805% |
| 2002 | #113 | 3,382 | 0.1742% |
| 2001 | #131 | 3,029 | 0.1559% |
| 2000 | #140 | 2,781 | 0.1416% |
| 1999 | #141 | 2,709 | 0.1411% |
| 1998 | #155 | 2,209 | 0.1156% |
| 1997 | #162 | 2,112 | 0.1120% |
| 1996 | #184 | 1,748 | 0.0923% |
| 1995 | #239 | 1,206 | 0.0634% |
| 1994 | #360 | 668 | 0.0346% |
| 1993 | #515 | 400 | 0.0204% |
| 1992 | #590 | 305 | 0.0153% |
| 1991 | #621 | 270 | 0.0134% |
| 1990 | #605 | 277 | 0.0135% |
| 1989 | #669 | 224 | 0.0112% |
| 1988 | #718 | 172 | 0.0090% |
| 1987 | #755 | 147 | 0.0079% |
| 1986 | #734 | 152 | 0.0083% |
| 1985 | #723 | 150 | 0.0081% |
| 1984 | #721 | 146 | 0.0081% |
| 1983 | #711 | 146 | 0.0081% |
| 1982 | #695 | 157 | 0.0087% |
| 1981 | #787 | 123 | 0.0069% |
| 1980 | #821 | 115 | 0.0064% |
| 1979 | #796 | 119 | 0.0069% |
| 1978 | #810 | 112 | 0.0068% |
| 1977 | #864 | 97 | 0.0059% |
| 1976 | #994 | 71 | 0.0045% |
| 1975 | #913 | 81 | 0.0052% |
| 1974 | #966 | 72 | 0.0046% |
| 1973 | #1,043 | 61 | 0.0039% |
| 1972 | #1,019 | 63 | 0.0039% |
| 1971 | #1,064 | 59 | 0.0033% |
| 1970 | #1,188 | 49 | 0.0026% |
| 1969 | #1,144 | 47 | 0.0026% |
| 1968 | #1,001 | 55 | 0.0032% |
| 1967 | #939 | 60 | 0.0034% |
| 1966 | #1,083 | 47 | 0.0026% |
| 1965 | #1,286 | 36 | 0.0019% |
| 1964 | #1,270 | 38 | 0.0019% |
| 1963 | #1,187 | 43 | 0.0021% |
| 1962 | #1,652 | 24 | 0.0012% |
| 1961 | #1,563 | 27 | 0.0013% |
| 1960 | #1,674 | 24 | 0.0011% |
| 1959 | #2,014 | 17 | 0.0008% |
| 1958 | #1,622 | 24 | 0.0011% |
| 1957 | #1,503 | 28 | 0.0013% |
| 1956 | #1,917 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 1955 | #2,383 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1954 | #3,081 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1950 | #2,518 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1947 | #4,046 | 5 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
