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Williamina

Girl name · 20 babies recorded · 1974–2025

Williamina: 20 babies born in Scotland since 1974, given to girls, peaking at 8 births in 1974.

Williamina is the feminine form of William, ultimately from the Old German ‘Willahelm’, meaning ‘will-helmet’ or ‘resolute protector’. Its most famous bearer was Williamina Fleming (1857–1911), a Scottish-born astronomer who, hired as a maid at Harvard Observatory, became a leading light in cataloguing and classifying stars, discovering the Horsehead Nebula among countless others. There is no major town named directly for her, but the Fleming crater on the Moon honours her work. A further note: while Williamina has never been a hugely common name in Scotland, it enjoyed a modest revival in the late 19th century, mirroring the fame of its brilliant astronomical namesake, and remains a distinctive choice with a strong scientific legacy.

Girl 4 of 52 years

Peak year
19748 babies
Latest (1986)
#4385 babies
Total births
20since 1974
5-year trend
≈ stablevs prior 5y
1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 1974 · 8
Births per year in Scotland. Missing years had a count of 2 or fewer (suppressed by NRS).