Is Spike short for William?

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My friend thought that it was. I know two children named Spike. I love the name, what are people's opinions?

The only Spike I know is actually called Alan - he chose it as a nickname as a teeneager because he thought it made him sound “cooler” than Alan (which it does, to be fair...)

Hahahahaha 😂

Hahahahaha! No it’s not! 🤣

Sorry my hahahahahas were in response to the “it’s short for Michael”. My son is called Spike, we named him after Spike Milligan and Spike Jones the band leader. Both these Spikes were not official Spikes, Spike was a nickname. Terence Milligan and Lindley Armstrong Jones. None is them williams, none of them Michaels.

Oh and I’m not a hippie.

And Spike is his real name, on his birth certificate. Sorry i can’t see how to edit or delete my comments, hence the relentless thread. I’ll get me coat now

His poetry was so bad it could cause a person to stick a railroad spike through their head, apparently.

Still weirdly attractive though..

I know a Spike but I've forgotten his real name.It's not William.

I used to work for a guy called Spike. Nice bloke. I’ve no idea if it was a nickname; he certainly used it professionally.

I really like it as a name actually.

Spike is fab. William is dull and boring (in my opinion)

Go for it.

I thought Spike was short for hedgehog.

I know one spike who is 12, it's on his birth cert. I like it and way prefer it to run of the mill william

Spike was (in the 1940s) a nickname for someone who was tall and skinny. That was how Spike Milligan got his nickname.

This thread was started in 2018...I'm guessing baby Spike is walking and talking by now...

I know of someone called Spike (friend of a friend's son) who must be about 30 now and it's his full name. But most of his siblings have quite out there names too. Their parents are in a creative/alternative line of work, not rock stars but same sort of vibe. I've also heard of someone called Alexander being known as Spike, but I'm pretty sure it was something to do with his looks, not his name. I think if you wanted to use it as a full name just go for it, don't try to find a name for it to be short for, but maybe with a more conventional middle name in case it really didn't suit his personality later in life.

No its short for Spikulonus

People try to tell me this on a daily basis, but it's actually erroneous - it's actually short for Spudulike - the masculine form of Spudulika (it's exotic).

How about Frogmellus?

We had a teacher known as Spike to all of the other teachers and his friends, but his actual name was Peter.

I don't think it's meant to be short for any name in particular - it's just a (slightly old-fashioned) nickname, like Chip or Acker or something, which are either (sort of) slang words for 'mate' or have obscure derivations from in-jokes that have long been lost in the mists of time.

I'd be interested to know if there are any etymological links with William - apart from just that a well-known William (or two) happens to also be known as Spike.