Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Sean Murphy

The touching reason Jamie Fraser names his secret son William in Outlander

Big news for Outlander fans was the recent adult casting of William Ransom for season 7, with Canadian actor Charles Vandervaart set to play Jamie Fraser's (Sam Heughan) 'secret' son in the hit show.

With fans having lots of questions - or possibly just in need of a refresh – about William's part to play in the show, one of the main things people will be wondering about is his name.

Why is it Ransom and not Fraser? And more importantly, why did Jamie decide to name him William?

Book readers are already ahead of the game when it comes to knowing all about these two, but show fans will have to wait for season 7 to discover whether Jamie will finally reveal the truth to William.

The heir of Earl of Ellesmere Ludovic Ransom, (hence the surname) who the world believes is his real father, William was conceived when a woman called Geneva Dunsany (Hannah James) who we meet back in Season 3, blackmailed Jamie into sleeping with her.

Will Jamie and his son William be seeing a lot of each other this season? (Starz)

But Jamie has a much sweeter reason for naming his secret son William. In fact, the young British soldier is actually named after the Highland warrior's older brother.

William Fraser – or William Simon Murtagh MacKenzie Fraser to be exact – was the firstborn son of Ellen MacKenzie and Brian Fraser after the pair got married in secret.

Tragically, he died aged just 11 from smallpox when Jamie was just six. Both Jamie and his older sister Jenny (Laura Donnelly) were close to their brother.

And it seems Jamie in particular has never forgotten him, honouring his memory by naming his only son after him.

We wonder if Jamie will ever reveal the truth to him, both about who his real father is and the uncle he is named after who he never met.

Don't miss the top culture and heritage stories from around Scotland. Sign up to our twice weekly Scotland Now newsletter here.

READ MORE:

Who are the Hunters? Siblings Denzell and Rachel to join Outlander cast in season 7

Outlander actress Lauren Lyle on a mission to make name Karen 'cool again'

Outlander filming locations: The story behind Falkland Palace

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.