This Essex County Family Boasts 10 Generations Of Guys Named William Williams

William Williams X -- as in "the tenth" -- was recently interviewed by The New York Post on his unique name, which also embodies a family tradition going back more than 150 years.

The municipal judge in Livingston, William Williams, is the ninth generation of his family to bear that name. His son (above) is the tenth.
Photo Credit: *Billy Williams*

Paul Milo

04/25/2019 2:52 p.m.

“TSA agents say, ‘Are you for real? Are you really William Williams? Why did your parents do that to you?’ ”the 27-year-old told the newspaper. “I say, ‘My parents didn’t have a choice.’ ”

That's because having a male with that distinctly alliterative name is a longstanding practice in the family that dates at least to the mid-19th century, WIlliams, a New Jersey native now living in Brooklyn, explained.

His father, William Williams No. 9, once served as mayor of Livingston and is now a municipal court judge there. William "Bull" Willaims VII was a Newark police officer and a WWI veteran, and No. 8 served in WWII and as a sheriff's officer.

Williams said that his longtime girlfriend, should they get married and have a son, understands that "I don’t want to be that one out of the 10 to break the lineage. This is bigger than me. I’m just a link in the chain.”

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