Williams Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Williams Family History

Williams Family History

The ancient origin of the name Williams was found in the irishsurnames.com archives. Williams is a baptismal name meaning 'the son of William', from the root word meaning 'resolute protector'. Variants include William, Williamson and Wilyams. This name was introduced to England at the time of the Norman Conquest and within a short period of time became the most popular name in the country. It is of Anglo-Norman descent spreading to Ireland, Scotland and Wales in early times and is found in many mediaeval manuscripts in the above countries. Examples of such are a Hugo Williamson and a Johannes Willemi, who were recorded in the 'Poll Tax' of the West Riding of Yorkshire in the year 1379. A John Willelmi was an official of Brechin, Scotland. In Ireland this name is of immigrant origin, having been introduced from Wales, England and Scotland during the seventeenth century. The name MacWilliams is rendered as MacUilliam in Gaelic and is mostly found in Ulster.The Williams family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including Williams descendants.