Girls' name · since 1890
Willow
Willow has 65,095 recorded births since 1890 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 2021 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #507 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #44 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 65,095
- born since 1890
- 2020s
- peak decade
Willow currently ranks #44 among girls' names in America, with 65,095 babies recorded since 1890.
Willow has 65,095 recorded births among girls since 1890, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #44 as of the latest data, more common than 99.7% of girls, busiest in the 2020s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1890 to 2025.
- #507 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #44 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 65,095 born since 1890
- 2020s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Willow ranks #507 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #44 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 65,095 born since 1890, peaking in the 2020s.
- #507 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #44 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 65,095
- born since 1890
- 2020s
- peak decade
Willow's 65,095 recorded births place it above 99.29% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Willow compares
65,095 Top 3% higher than 97% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls 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
Willow's all-time total is 173x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Willow | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 65,095 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 5,195 | 21 | 19,840 |
Willow's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Willow's full recorded timeline at 1965, 98% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 2% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1890, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 2021 peak of 5,195 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Willow popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1890–2025
- Peak year (2021)
- 5,195
- Annual births at peak, across 136 years of records
Currently a top-50 pick among girls.
65,095 total births across 136 years of SSA records. Peaked in 2021 with 5,195 births in a single year.
Willow popularity over time - boys
465 total births recorded since 1924 (Willow as boys' name)
Unisex use remains the minority pattern
The boys' variant of Willow accounts for 1% of total recorded use across both genders.
Willow by decade
2020s is the heaviest window (28,868 births, 44% of the file).
2020s was Willow's strongest decade.
28,868 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 44% of all-time use.
Willow births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1890s 5
1890s
5 births
- 1900s 40
1900s
40 births
- 1910s 111
1910s
111 births
- 1920s 252
1920s
252 births
- 1930s 208
1930s
208 births
- 1940s 175
1940s
175 births
- 1950s 138
1950s
138 births
- 1960s 139
1960s
139 births
- 1970s 502
1970s
502 births
- 1980s 344
1980s
344 births
- 1990s 1,217
1990s
1,217 births
- 2000s 6,024
2000s
6,024 births
- 2010s
2010s
27,072 births
- 2020s
2020s
28,868 births
What this shows Peak: 2020s at 28,868 births (44% of all-time use).
Willow decade highlights
- Peak decade 28,868 births
- Runner-up 27,072 births
- Modern era share 2010s + 2020s
- Decades tracked with recorded births
How Willow compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Willow's total volume
Willow by state
Where Willow concentrates geographically, total births since 1890
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 4,103 | 6.3% |
| #2 | Texas | | 3,675 | 5.6% |
| #3 | Ohio | | 3,218 | 4.9% |
| #4 | Pennsylvania | | 2,850 | 4.4% |
| #5 | Florida | | 2,849 | 4.4% |
| #6 | North Carolina | | 2,444 | 3.8% |
| #7 | Tennessee | | 2,384 | 3.7% |
| #8 | Michigan | | 2,355 | 3.6% |
4,103 of 65,095 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Top 5 states
- California 6.3% of nationwide
- Texas 5.6% of nationwide
- Ohio 4.9% of nationwide
- Pennsylvania 4.4% of nationwide
- Florida 4.4% of nationwide
Recorded in 51 of 51 SSA jurisdictions
California accounts for 6.3% of all recorded births nationwide - a relatively diffuse profile for this name.
Willow appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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Where does Willow sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Willow most popular? ▼
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What to do with Willow's data
- California records the most Willows (4,103 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Willow
Nearby Names Like Willow
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Willow
Compare Willow side by side: Willow vs Willie Willow vs Wilma Willow vs Willa
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Willow
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Willow: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2021)
Similar record span (~135 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, 1890–2025 (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 Willow 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.
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