Wilhelmus
Just 37 men in Poland carry it, and the records show no newborns at all since 2000: most Poles will never meet one. Germanic at root, it reads as "resolute protector", from the old words for will and helmet.
Wilhelmus Pronunciation
Wilhelmus is pronounced veel-KHEL-moos (/vilˈxɛlmus/).
What Wilhelmus means
Where Wilhelmus comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Wilhelmus is the Latin dress worn by Wilhelm, a Germanic name built from will, meaning desire, and helm, meaning helmet or protection. Together they read as resolute protector. Medieval scribes latinized names for church registers, and Wilhelm turned into Wilhelmus on the page.
The most famous bearer is a song. "Het Wilhelmus" is the national anthem of the Netherlands, and it ranks among the oldest anthems anywhere. It sings of Willem van Oranje, and its first word gives the whole hymn its name.
The name did not stay tied to men. Wilhelmina is its cross-gender form, borne by a Dutch queen who reigned more than fifty years. On a Polish urząd form, a bearer today might still write Wilhelmus in full, will plus helmet, a resolute protector.
How many people are named Wilhelmus
1 in 576924 men in Poland is named Wilhelmus. 37 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #6528 among male names.
Wilhelmus as a middle name
Wilhelmus is a first name for 37 men in Poland and a middle name for another 72, a 34/66 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 854th, between Wasyl (72) and Eustachiusz (71).
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#852 Gerardo72
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#853 Wasyl72
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#854 Wilhelmus72
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#855 Eustachiusz71
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#856 Jon71