Was his real name William Wallace?

Question

My husband is descended from the same line as William Wallace and we are both of Scottish descent. We are expecting a baby and are looking for names. We would like to have a traditonal Scottish name (or Celtic for my Irish descent) and were wondering If William Wallace's real name was William or if it was something else that the English translated to William.

I'm not looking for a history lesson. I know the history. I just want facts about his name.

Answer 1

"Sir William Wallace (c.1270–August 22, 1305) was a knight and Scottish patriot, who led a resistance to the English occupation of Scotland during significant periods of the Wars of Scottish Independence. William was the inspiration for the historical novel The Acts and Deeds of Sir William Wallace, Knight of Elderslie written by the 15th century minstrel Blind Harry. This work is more of a novel than a biography and is responsible for much of the legend encompassing the history of William Wallace. The 1995 Mel Gibson film Braveheart is based upon the novel."

Answer 2

Wallace lived when? During the 1300's... the 1400"s? Of course his real name wasn't William Wallace. That name is only an anglicized version of his much older real Scottish name. Wasn't it McWallach or something like that? I'm not sure about the spelling because gaelic is never written the way it sounds.
ie: Siobahn is pronounced Shee-vaughn.
I'm half Irish, and have always been interested in Gaelic history, so I know there are many sites related to the information you need.

Answer 3

Knowing the name William is an English translation of the German name Wilhelm I was thinking it couldn't have possibly been William Wallaces real first name. A little research via web searches and I found though it is of German origin, the name was introduced to the British Isles nearly 300 years prior to the birth of William Wallace. Not proof that it was his actual first name, but it cerainly shows that it is easily within the realm of possibility.

Answer 4

Wallace's family were minor nobles (gentry) descending from Richard Wallace the Welshman (the name Wallace means "Welsh") a landowner under an early member of the House of Stuart, which later became the Royal House of Scotland.

While tradition claims Sir Malcolm Wallace of Elderslie as the father of three sons, Malcolm, John, and William Wallace, the seal identifies William as the son of Alan Wallace of Ayrshire who appears in the Ragman Roll of 1296 as "crown tenant of Ayrshire". Dr Fiona Watson in "A Report into Sir William Wallace's connections with Ayrshire", published in March 1999, reassesses the early life of William Wallace and concludes "Sir William Wallace was a younger son of Alan Wallace, a crown tenant in Ayrshire". Historian Andrew Fisher, author of William Wallace (2002) writes, "If the Alan of the Ragman Roll was indeed the patriot's father, then the current argument in favour of an Ayrshire rather than a Renfrewshire origin for Wallace can be settled".

Answer 5

I believe william was his real name. I don't see a scots form of william. the name became popular in the british isles after the norman conquest by william the conqueror in 1066 - wallace was born about 200 years after that.

Answer 6

I think you should see the film with Mel gibson as william wallace. I believe there are Wallace descendants among the scottish upper-class?

Answer 7

Yes, his real name was William Wallace

Answer 8

i believe that's the actual name....I'll get back to you.....i have a friend named William Wallace....who is a direct descendant and has a huge trust fund because of it....he is sure to know

Answer 9

Yes, his name was William.

On another note, I would like to clarify something for all of you:

WILLIAM WALLACE HAD NO CHILDREN SO HE HAS NO DIRECT DESCENDANTS.

If you are related in any way, it will be to his SISTER, not the man himself.

Answer 10

HIs name was Uilleam Uallas, pronounced 'oolyam ooalas' (the l sound in the surname is thick, pronounced with tongue between your teeth). He mother tongue was Gaelic.

Wanted to call my own boy Uilleam, but I was overruled!

Gur math a theid leibh le bhur leanaibh ur/good luck with the new baby