What was Spike's human first name before becoming a vampire?

Spike’s human first name before becoming a vampire was William.

Before he was known as Spike, he was William, a Victorian-era aspiring poet living in London with his mother, Anne. His peers mocked his romantic poetry and privately called him “William the Bloody,” initially because they considered his verse “bloody awful.” The nickname later acquired a more violent association.

William was rejected by Cecily, then encountered the vampire Drusilla. She sired him in 1880, transforming the timid poet into a passionate and dangerous vampire. After joining Drusilla, Angelus, and Darla, William adopted the name Spike, associated with his reputation for torturing victims with railroad spikes.

The transformation changed William’s behavior, but it did not erase his capacity for loyalty, attachment, and intense emotion. He remained devoted to Drusilla and later turned his mother into a vampire in an attempt to save her from tuberculosis. “William” is the canonical first name; “William Pratt” is the character’s full name in later Buffyverse material, but the quiz asks only for his first name.