About the McWilliams Surname

The spelling McWilliams grew out of McWilliam, a Scottish surname with a long paper trail. Surname dictionaries give the meaning as “The son of William (resolution, helmet)”.

A variant of McWilliam

McWilliams adds a patronymic ending to McWilliam, meaning ‘son of’ or ‘of the family of’. Census takers and immigration officers often wrote what they heard. Other spellings include MacWilliams and MacWilliam.

In the records

The 2010 census count for McWilliams in the United States was 20,523, good for rank 1,746.

Family crest and blazon

Heraldry is personal: arms associated with the McWilliam surname were borne by specific families, and sharing the name does not mean sharing the blazon.

For the full story, order the McWilliams surname pack.