What’s In A Name: Bill Compton

This is the fifth in our series of articles examining the meanings behind the names of characters on True Blood. For previous articles looking at Sookie, Eric, Alcide  & Tara, click here.

William Thomas Compton

“Bill? I thought it might be Antoine, or Basil, or-or-or like Langford, maybe. But, Bill? Vampire Bill!” – Sookie Stackhouse

The only character whose full name we know, thanks to his gravestone, Bill has a decidedly non-traditional vampire name as Sookie points out upon learning it.* Bill is short for William, one of the oldest English names on record, introduced by the Norman invader William who conquered England in 1044 AD and favored by rulers and warriors through the ages. It comes from the ancient German Willahelm, which means “determined protector”. No matter what his orders were or how betrayed Sookie feels, I think even she would agree that this is an accurate description of his actions toward her. Could the shortened version of his name be a clue that his protection is short-lived? Or is it simply a reflection of the informal society in Bon Temps?

Thomas is another ancient name, one that Godric would have been familiar with in its Armenian form of Ta’oma, which means “twin”. More than likely Charlaine Harris chose it because it was a popular name in the Civil War-era South, but since we’re looking at deeper meanings, there are a couple of possibilities: Possibly an indicator of Bill’s dual nature as a vampire who seeks his human core, it could also signify his twin desires to both be with Sookie and fulfill his orders.

Yet another name with ancient English roots, Compton comes from the Anglo-Saxon cumbton, meaning “from the Combe estate”. If you’ve read previous What’s In A Name articles, you’ve noticed that English and Germanic surnames often refer to geography, and this continues the trend. I think it’s worth noting that the name shares many of the linguistic features of the words “competent” and “competitive”, though, both of which describe Bill.

In the end what we have is a very traditional name for a gentleman from the Civil War era. All three names come from Old English which indicates that Bill’s ancestors likely came from England to America, just like the actor who plays him – how’s that for serendipity?

*In the novels his middle name is initially given as “Erasmus” (Greek: beloved), then later “Thomas”. The show has established his middle name as “Thomas”, so we’re going with that.