View Message

I don't like Bill because I think it sounds like an old person. It's also kind of comedic to me. I feel like someone named "Bill" would be the butt of every joke.

Will is timeless to me and is a nn I could see myself using for William (either that or Liam). Bill, otoh, is really dated to me and it's one of those nns that just sounds really dumb (along with Bob, Dick, Peg, etc.). I've seen Will a lot more in the last decade or so.

I do prefer Bill as opposed to Will as a nickname for William. My favourite nickname for it is Billy.

I don't like Bill at all, I'm afraid. It's up there with Bob, Joe, and Mike as bland names that it seems half of the male population over 40 has. Will is attractive but rather boring as well.

---

It's weird but I actually like Billy. That and Bobby. Both are kind of refreshing on little boys. Still hate Joey and Mikey, though.

I definitely prefer Will to Bill. Will sounds fresh, Bill sounds like an old man.

---

When a William is VERY young, like toddler age, I've heard them be called Wim. I think it's kind of cute.

I like both Bill and Will - there aren't that many Williams where I live, but Will has very strong antecedents in children's lit - Will in the Susan Cooper 'Dark Is Rising' books and of course also in the Phillip Pullman 'His Dark Materials' series. Also Shakespeare! Not sure if that's a good thing or not; I think it mostly is. And Bill was used in my family a lot; the last Bill died about ten years ago, in his 80s. So it's got good personal memories to balance the literary ones.

---

One thing, though: I loathe and despise Liam with a passion like frozen acid.

I dislike Will and I hate Liam.

---

Billy is my favourite and the only way I would ever be persuaded to use William as a first name - or possibly as a name at all. From Billy I suppose I would grow to love Bill too as my child outgrows Billy.

---

All of the Williams I have ever known go as Will. My granddad was William Henry who went as Harry.

---

My favorite nickname for William is Liam. If I couldn't use that, I would probably use Will or Billy. So yeah, I prefer Will over Bill. Will sounds more masculine and handsome, while Bill sounds old and I can only imagen an old fat guy.

I think Bill and Will are about equal.
Bill sounds more butch. I'm not that into B names, otherwise I would like it more because of that.
I like Wil more than Will because it's less word-y and in my mind, it would sound more like a natural shortening of William, than a "nickname Will."
Yesterday my daughter asked my husband what his middle name was and he replied, William. I had forgotten that it was his middle name. I find the name extremely forgettable. I think I've only met one guy with fn William (that I remember!) born after 1970. He went by William, but tolerated the boss calling him Will.

---

Oh, and look at the popularity chart for William. Switch the view between "percent used" and "rank." It's a great example name to demonstrate how much less popularity means than it used to.

This message was edited 7/12/2014, 9:09 PM

I don't care for Will at all; my sense of it is being kind of boring and wimpy. :-/

---

I love William, and if I used it myself I'd go with the full name. It's so handsome and romantic. (ETA: I think Pim is the sweetest, cutest thing, but I don't know if I'd want to have my kid go through life explaining William "Pim" in a middle American, English speaking context.)

---

However, on the subject of Bill--while I wouldn't default to it myself, I don't dislike it. And if pressed to choose I'd take Bill over any other William nickname. I know a kid who is maybe eight or nine and is William "Bill." It's really delightful; I love "man" names on little kids.

---

I'm glad you brought it up. I can see it growing on me. :-)

This message was edited 7/12/2014, 8:28 PM

Will is a nice nn, and so is Bill. But the funny thing is, Bill seems a bit odd on a very young guy. In elementary school in my class there was a kid named Bill, and I remember even then thinking it was kind of funny for a boy that age to be called Bill. My uncle's name is Bill so that was the age of Bill I was most familiar with.
But my school friend Bill and I were in a class that included both a Billy and a Will, so it worked out good for him.
We have a good friend named Bill who is a Junior. He has a grown son who is a Third and who goes by Billy. When he was born his parents were planning on nicknaming him Trey, but it never did take, not even with them.

---

I don't find Billy too bad either. A bit redneck, maybe, but not terrible. Willie is probably my least favorite nn for William, though I did once work with a very nice older guy named Willie. He was very country, and I don't know if Willie was his full name or if he was William.
I'm not even counting Liam as a nn for William, unless you're actualy Irish.

---

William is one of those names that's well-dressed wherever it goes, and I think Bill as a nn is also well-dressed wherever it goes, as is Will. Not so much Billy or Willie. The only drawback I see for William is a lot of people around here say it so it sounds like Wee-yum, which is awful.

I prefer Will SO SO SO SO much. I really don't care for Bill. It sounds like... I don't know, someone who would come to your door selling life insurance.

---

I read a book once where a William was nicknamed Wim, and I kind of like that.