I believe it was my grandfather who was
Wilhelm Gottlieb...he changed it to
William when he got to the US.
I just love the old
German names...I don't understand why Germans have to use names that can't really be pronounced or have much meaning or history in their language. I once met a
Hedwig "Hedi" who said that even in Germany she had to spell out her name. And in
German class where I go by
Hedwig, the first time I told the teacher she didn't pronounce it correctly (or at least the way my family does).