Unisex name · since 1880
Willie
Willie has 450,188 recorded births since 1880 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1947 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #71 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #1,315 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 450,188
- born since 1880
- 1940s
- peak decade
Willie currently ranks #1315 among unisex names in America, with 450,188 babies recorded since 1880.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Willie has been recorded 450,188 times among boys since 1880, currently ranked #1315 nationally and more common than 91% of boys, with its heaviest use in the 1940s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #71 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #1,315 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 450,188 born since 1880
- 1940s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Willie ranks #71 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,315 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 450,188 born since 1880, peaking in the 1940s.
- #71 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #1,315 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 450,188
- born since 1880
- 1940s
- peak decade
Willie's 450,188 recorded births place it above 99.84% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
49 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Georgia.
How Willie compares
450,188 Top 1% higher than 99% 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
Willie's all-time total is 1,220x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Willie | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 450,188 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 7,997 | 34 | 22,252 |
Willie's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Willie's full recorded timeline at 1953, 32% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 68% in the earlier half -- the name was more prevalent in its earlier era than it is today. Its quietest year on record was 2024, with just 138 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1947 peak of 7,997 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Willie popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1947)
- 7,997
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Willie popularity over time - girls
146,197 total births recorded since 1880 (Willie as girls' name)
Willie by decade
1940s is the heaviest window (72,422 births, 16% of the file).
1940s was Willie's strongest decade.
72,422 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 16% of all-time use.
Willie births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 5,906
1880s
5,906 births
- 1890s 9,849
1890s
9,849 births
- 1900s 17,746
1900s
17,746 births
- 1910s
1910s
47,690 births
- 1920s
1920s
67,993 births
- 1930s
1930s
62,466 births
- 1940s
1940s
72,422 births
- 1950s
1950s
66,460 births
- 1960s
1960s
39,812 births
- 1970s 23,966
1970s
23,966 births
- 1980s 16,892
1980s
16,892 births
- 1990s 9,716
1990s
9,716 births
- 2000s 5,157
2000s
5,157 births
- 2010s 3,132
2010s
3,132 births
- 2020s 981
2020s
981 births
What this shows Peak: 1940s at 72,422 births (16% of all-time use).
How Willie 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 Willie's total volume
Willie by state
Where Willie concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Georgia | | 60,684 | 13.5% |
| #2 | Mississippi | | 49,142 | 10.9% |
| #3 | Alabama | | 47,979 | 10.7% |
| #4 | South Carolina | | 33,426 | 7.4% |
| #5 | Texas | | 29,901 | 6.6% |
| #6 | North Carolina | | 29,016 | 6.4% |
| #7 | Florida | | 25,348 | 5.6% |
| #8 | Louisiana | | 22,732 | 5.0% |
60,684 of 450,188 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 49 reporting states.
Willie appears in 49 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Willie? ▼
Where does Willie sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Willie most popular? ▼
Where is Willie most popular? ▼
Is Willie a unisex name? ▼
How long has the name Willie been used? ▼
What names are similar to Willie? ▼
What to do with Willie's data
- Willie's decade-level peak was the 1940s (72,422 total births); usage has since declined to 981 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- Georgia records the most Willies (60,684 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Georgia names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Willie
Nearby Names Like Willie
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Willie
Compare Willie side by side: Willie vs William Willie vs Willard Willie vs Wilbur
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Willie
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Willie: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1947)
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 Willie 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.