Willie
WIL-ee
A familiar diminutive of William, carrying the classic sense of willing, resolute strength.
Meaning
Willie is a pet form of Will, Bill, and ultimately William. In the excerpted naming books, it is treated as a diminutive used in English and Scots, with William traced through the older Germanic name tradition associated with will and determination. The exact meaning follows William rather than adding a separate independent sense.
Origin
EnglishScotsGermanicvaries by culture
Fun fact
One excerpt groups Willie with a whole family of nickname forms, alongside Willy and Billy, as a straightforward short form of William.
Confidence: sourced. Sources: History of Christian Names, Praenomina; or, the etymology of the principal Christian names of Great Britain and Ireland.