My name is Willem and my ancestors come from the Netherlands. My father and my grandfather and myself are all named Willem Petrus. The pronunciation is using the W as a V. So it could be spelt as Villem. Hope it helps...
Willem van Eijk is a convicted Dutch serial killer known as "Het Beest van Harkstede". He was convicted twice for a total of five murders. Willem van Eijk was born in 1941 in the small village of Korteraar, South Holland. During his time at an elementary school in Ter Aar he was an outcast and referred to as "Gekke Willempje", something he later used to justify his actions. During this time of extreme bullying, Willem started to collect morbid items, such as dead bugs and frogs. He soon gained notoriety in his home village for his cruelty towards animals; especially dogs, cats, and ducks. Still a loner when attending high school, Van Eijk committed petty crimes. During this time he started to dream about raping and killing women.
Willem Janssen is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for FC Utrecht in the Dutch Eredivisie. Born in Nijmegen, Janssen made his professional debut for VVV-Venlo in the 2004-05 season, before signing for Roda JC in 2007.
Just to clear up the V/W issue; Willem is pronounced with a Dutch w-sound, which is different from an English w and not quite a v either. You can listen to it here: http://www.forvo.com/word/Willem/#nl.
Willem Dafoe (born 1955 in Appleton, Wisconsin) is a famous American actor.
― Anonymous User 6/8/2012
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Willem Pieterszoon Buytewech (1591-1624) was a Dutch painter nicknamed Geestige Willem.
― Anonymous User 10/14/2011
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Willem van Aelst (1625-1683) was a Dutch painter of lavish flower pieces and still-lifes.
― Anonymous User 7/4/2011
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Billy Idol's son is named Willem.
― Anonymous User 6/12/2007
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I love the name Willem, especially with the middle name Jan. In my family it has been used alternatingly with Roelof Philip in naming the oldest son except for my uncle it became Americanized to William and then my aunt wasn't too keen on the name Roelof. In doing this other members of my family have surrendered the rights to this name. I am definitely using it.
― Anonymous User 3/4/2007
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Willem, I think, is a great name. It's got a great meaning and I think it sounds good. My cousin is named Willem, and I'm pretty sure it's for one of our ancestors who came from Germany to America. It's always been said with the W sound in my family.
Famous bearers of this name are several kings of the Netherlands: Willem of Orange, Willem III etc. At this moment the crownprince of Holland is: Willem-Alexander. When he becomes king, his name will be 'king Willem IV'.