How to Write William in Cursive

Your name in school cursive with the capital, the joins and the tricky spots explained, plus a printable practice sheet.

By Maya Chen, lettering designer and type educator · Checked by Jordan Hale · October 2026 · How we review content

"William" in Playwrite US Trad, a typeface modelled on traditional school cursive.

William is seven letters, and five of them are narrow upright strokes: i, l, l, i and then the start of a and m. That repetition is the challenge. The W is the biggest and widest letter you will write, then everything shrinks into a row of narrow loops. Keeping the loops the same height is what makes William look polished.

Copy and paste "William" in cursive

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Letter by letter

Each distinct letter in "William" has its own stroke-by-stroke page.

The joins in William

Wi: After the lift, start the i at the baseline close under the end of the W. The i is a short upstroke and downstroke with an exit along the baseline. Dot it after finishing.
il: The i exits low and rises to the top line to form the l loop. Keep the loop narrow. Both stems should lean at the same angle.
ll: Two tall loops in a row: after the first l comes down and leaves along the baseline, the second l begins with an upstroke from that exit. Make both loops the same height and keep the space between them equal.
li: The second l leads into the second i. The i is short again, so the contrast between the loop and the stem is clear. Dot it at the end.
am: The a closes at the top and exits into the m, which has three humps. Keep the a and m small so the end of the name does not drift upward.

Tricky spots

The double l: Two loops with different heights or widths are the most obvious mistake. Draw them as a matched pair.
Two i dots: Each i needs its own dot, directly above the stem. Add them after the word is finished.
The distance after W: Because W does not connect, you have to choose the gap. Start the i just inside the last stroke of the W.

The capital W

Capital W has four slanted strokes with two points on the baseline and ends at the top line with a small check or curl, so it does not connect. Lift your pen after it and begin the i close to the last stroke, since the W is so wide that a large gap makes the name fall apart. Keep all four strokes at the same slant.

William as a signature

Many signatures keep only the big W and the first few letters clear, then let the ending trail off. If you want William to stay readable, keep the double l clear and shorten the end of the m with a small upward tail. The W itself can have a tall left stroke and a wide final stroke as a flourish.

Short forms of William

Short forms include Will, Willy, Billy and Bill. Will drops the ending but keeps the W, i and double l, so it is the best practice for the first half of William. Bill and Billy start with a B, which has a different capital, so the opening changes.

As a tattoo

The double l is the part to plan with the artist: the two loops should be open and spaced evenly so they do not merge. William is long, so allow enough width for the narrow strokes to stay separate. Lowercase i dots need to be distinct from the loops.

Printable practice sheet

Trace the grey letters, then write your own on the empty lines. Prints on one page (Letter or A4).

Cursive practice: William

Name: ____________________ coolletteringgenerator.com

Copy-paste versions of William

Script 𝒲𝒾𝓁𝓁𝒾𝒶𝓂 and bold script 𝓦𝓲𝓵𝓵𝓲𝓪𝓶 are generated by code from the Unicode mathematical script blocks, so you can paste either one anywhere that accepts Unicode text. No letter in William is borrowed from the Letterlike Symbols block, so plain script should look uniform on any device that supports the math script block. The double l and the pair of i's all come from the main block as well. Bold script is equally even if you prefer a heavier look.

William in cursive: questions

How do you write William in cursive?

Write a four-stroke capital W, lift, then write i, l and a second l as two narrow loops, then another i with a dot, and finish with a closed a and a three-hump m. The only connection break is after the capital W.

Does the capital W connect to the next letter?

In traditional cursive it does not. The W ends at the top line with a small check, so you lift before the i. Keep the gap small, no wider than the i itself, so the name still looks like one word.

How do you make the ll in cursive?

Write a tall loop, bring it down to the baseline, exit with a short undercurve and go straight back up for the second loop. The two should be the same height with equal space. Practise a row of l loops before writing the full name.