Guillermo

About Guillermo

Guillermo is the Spanish form of William, with Germanic roots associated with will and protection. Its three-syllable rhythm and distinctive ll make it look and sound different from its English relative. Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro and tennis champion Guillermo Vilas give it especially prominent cultural and sporting connections.

Meaning and international family

William developed from the Germanic Willehelm, combining elements meaning “will” or “desire” and “helmet” or “protection.” Guillermo is the established Spanish form of that older name.

The wider family includes French Guillaume, Portuguese Guilherme, Italian Guglielmo, and German Wilhelm. These forms show how substantially a name can change across languages while retaining its historical relationship.

Guillermina is the Spanish feminine counterpart. English short forms such as Will and Bill belong to William's English history; they do not reproduce Guillermo's Spanish sound.

Pronunciation

Spanish Guillermo is approximately ghee-YEHR-moh, with a hard g at the beginning and emphasis on the second syllable. The u in gui is silent.

The ll sound varies by region. In much of the Spanish-speaking world it resembles an English y, while other accents give it a different sound. The r is a brief Spanish tap, rather than the stronger r of many English pronunciations.

These details explain why the name is not read as an English sequence of gill and ermo. Its spelling follows Spanish conventions and produces three clear syllables.

Guillermo del Toro and cinema

Guillermo del Toro won the directing Oscar at the 2018 Academy Awards for The Shape of Water. The award placed his full name prominently within international film recognition.

His later work included Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, which won the animated feature Oscar in 2023. Del Toro shared that award with Mark Gustafson, Gary Ungar, and Alex Bulkley.

The film's title itself carries Guillermo, making the given name visible beyond the usual director credit. The two awards also show work across different kinds of filmmaking, from live-action cinema to an animated reimagining of a familiar story.

Guillermo Vilas and tennis

Argentine tennis player Guillermo Vilas won four major singles titles. His particularly successful 1977 season included victories at both the French Open and the US Open.

He then won the Australian Open in 1978 and again in 1979. Those titles placed his name among the leading players of the early professional Open Era.

Vilas's career gives Guillermo a sporting association independent of del Toro's film work. His achievements connect the name with Argentine tennis and an era when the professional game was expanding its international audience.

American popularity

Guillermo's strongest United States ranking for boys was #352 in 1996, with 692 births. Its largest published annual count came in 1998, with 693.

The name appeared for 651 boys in 2000 and 457 in 2010. In 2025, 264 boys received it, ranking #902. These numbers describe this exact Spanish form rather than combining it with William or other international relatives.

How popular is Guillermo?

In 2025, Guillermo ranked #902 among boys in the United States, with 264 recorded uses. The U.S. birth records first list this spelling for boys in 1885; its largest annual count was 693 in 1998. Rankings count each spelling separately. They describe national use, so local familiarity can differ. The popularity chart shows whether the name has remained common, returned after a quieter period, or risen recently.