Boys' name · since 1880
Will
Will has 45,952 recorded births since 1880 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1888 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #537 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #1,193 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 45,952
- born since 1880
- 1880s
- peak decade
45,952 babies have been named Will since 1880, making it today's #1193 boys' name.
Will has 45,952 recorded births among boys since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #1193 as of the latest data, more common than 91% of boys, busiest in the 1880s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #537 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #1,193 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 45,952 born since 1880
- 1880s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Will ranks #537 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,193 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 45,952 born since 1880, peaking in the 1880s.
- #537 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #1,193 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 45,952
- born since 1880
- 1880s
- peak decade
Will's 45,952 recorded births place it above 98.81% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
44 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Texas.
How Will compares
45,952 Top 4% higher than 96% of 13,930 names currently given to boys
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Will's all-time total is 125x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Will | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 45,952 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 707 | 34 | 22,252 |
Will's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Divide Will's SSA record in two at 1953 and the more recent half accounts for 42% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 58%, a genuinely balanced usage pattern. Its calmest year was 2024, with only 153 births recorded -- set against the 1888 peak of 707, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.
Will popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1888)
- 707
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Will popularity over time - girls
658 total births recorded since 1881 (Will as girls' name)
Will by decade
1880s is the heaviest window (6,196 births, 13% of the file).
1880s was Will's strongest decade.
6,196 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 13% of all-time use.
Will births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s
1880s
6,196 births
- 1890s
1890s
5,210 births
- 1900s
1900s
3,246 births
- 1910s
1910s
3,162 births
- 1920s
1920s
3,423 births
- 1930s 2,402
1930s
2,402 births
- 1940s 2,161
1940s
2,161 births
- 1950s 1,999
1950s
1,999 births
- 1960s 2,100
1960s
2,100 births
- 1970s 2,232
1970s
2,232 births
- 1980s 2,349
1980s
2,349 births
- 1990s
1990s
2,927 births
- 2000s
2000s
4,446 births
- 2010s
2010s
2,978 births
- 2020s 1,121
2020s
1,121 births
What this shows Peak: 1880s at 6,196 births (13% of all-time use).
How Will compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Will's total volume
Will by state
Where Will concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Texas | | 2,986 | 6.5% |
| #2 | Mississippi | | 2,406 | 5.2% |
| #3 | Alabama | | 2,096 | 4.6% |
| #4 | Georgia | | 1,863 | 4.1% |
| #5 | California | | 1,805 | 3.9% |
| #6 | Tennessee | | 1,666 | 3.6% |
| #7 | Louisiana | | 1,121 | 2.4% |
| #8 | North Carolina | | 1,092 | 2.4% |
2,986 of 45,952 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 44 reporting states.
Will appears in 44 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Will? ▼
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When was Will most popular? ▼
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What to do with Will's data
- Will's decade-level peak was the 1880s (6,196 total births); usage has since declined to 1,121 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- Texas records the most Wills (2,986 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Texas names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Will
Nearby Names Like Will
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Will
Compare Will side by side: Will vs William Will vs Willie Will vs Willard
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Will
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Will: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1888)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Will draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.