List of Famous people named William

William de Ferrers (1240-1287) of Groby Castle in Leicestershire was the younger son of William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby (c.1193-1254) of Chartley Castle in Staffordshire, by his second wife Margaret de Quincy, daughter and heiress of Roger de Quincy, 2nd Earl of Winchester (c.1195-1264). He founded the line of Ferrers of Groby, having been given Groby Castle by his mother Margaret de Quincy. Having rebelled against King Henry III, he was taken prisoner at the Battle of Northampton in 1264, but was later pardoned. In 1282 He was with King Edward I in the Army of Wales.

William à Court, 1st Baron Heytesbury GCB PC, known as Sir William à Court, Bt, from 1817 to 1828, was a British diplomat and Conservative politician.

William Courtenay was Archbishop of Canterbury (1381-96), having previously been Bishop of Hereford and Bishop of London.

William Ernest Henley was an English poet, writer, critic and editor in late Victorian England. Though he wrote several books of poetry, Henley is remembered most often for his 1875 poem "Invictus". A fixture in London literary circles, the one-legged Henley was also the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson's character Long John Silver, while his young daughter Margaret inspired J. M. Barrie's choice of the name Wendy for the heroine of his play Peter Pan (1904).

William, Duke of Brunswick, was ruling duke of the Duchy of Brunswick from 1830 until his death.