Daily AncestorWm.
Wm. is an old abbreviation of the first name William, common in deeds, wills, church registers and census pages.
Wm. is a clerk's shorthand for the given name William. Writers shortened common first names to save time and ink, usually by keeping the first letters and the last one or two, often with the final letters raised above the line.
It is one of the most frequent name abbreviations in early American records because William was such a popular name. Do not read it as a separate name or an initial; Wm. Jr. and Wm. Sr. in one county are two men called William.
As seen in a recordName column of the 1850 census
Wm. Parker, 52, Farmer, N.C.
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Daily Ancestor. "Wm.." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/abbreviations/wm. Last checked 2026-10-01.