Many of the most common English first names have been translated across European languages for centuries — the same person could be William in England, Guillaume in France, and Guillermo in Spain, all sharing one root name. This tool looks up those attested variants so you can see a name's international family at a glance.
Where These Variants Come From
Classic names traveled with saints' calendars, royal intermarriage, and Latin church records, picking up a local spelling and pronunciation in each language along the way. That's why so many "different" names across Europe actually trace back to one shared origin.
| William (English) | Guillaume (French), Guillermo (Spanish), Wilhelm (German), Guglielmo (Italian) |
| John (English) | Jean (French), Juan (Spanish), Giovanni (Italian), Johann (German) |
| Mary (English) | Marie (French), María (Spanish), Maria (Italian/German) |
| Catherine (English) | Catalina (Spanish), Caterina (Italian), Katharina (German) |
Not every name has a well-documented variant family — many are specific to one language or culture. For names not in the curated dictionary, the AI lookup gives a best-effort answer, but treat it as a starting point rather than an attested fact the way the dictionary entries are.
Common Questions
Are these variants "the same name" legally or just historically related?
Historically and etymologically related — they share a common root, the way William and Guillermo both trace back to the same Germanic name. They're not interchangeable on legal documents.
Why do some names only show one or two variants?
Some names only picked up a well-documented variant in a couple of languages, while others (usually older saints'-calendar names) spread across most of Europe. The list only shows variants we're confident are attested.