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
0%100%Median name50%99.7%
Willow vs. every other girls name in current SSA rankings
Upper archive tier
All-time archive position

Willow's 65,095 recorded births place it above 99.29% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.

51 jurisdictions
State-record footprint

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

Top 100 girls' name
Peak year (2021)
5,195
Annual births at peak, across 136 years of records
02,0004,0006,000 189019211937195319691985200120172025 4,763

Willow popularity over time - boys

465 total births recorded since 1924 (Willow as boys' name)

Unisex variant - 465 births
0102030405060 192419962000200520112015201920232025 23

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

births

What this shows Peak: 2020s at 28,868 births (44% of all-time use).

Source U.S. Social Security Administration · Baby Names As of August 2026

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 vs 15 similarly-sized girls names Scatter plot of 16 data points. 0%2%4%6%8%10% 050100150200 New & already peakedOld name, single-era peakNew & still diversifyingLong history, steady all along Years in SSA records % of total births in the single peak year -129, 8.2%-60, 7.8%-51, 3.9%-140, 4.6%-146, 2.3%-145, 2.5%-146, 3%-70, 4.7%-121, 4.5%-128, 4.3%-146, 2%-84, 4.6%-75, 3.9%-97, 3.9%-146, 6.4%Willow-136, 8%Willow
Willow vs 15 similarly-sized girls names

Willow by state

Where Willow concentrates geographically, total births since 1890

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Willow
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%
California share of Willow's total US births 6.3%
Even split

4,103 of 65,095 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Willow appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Willow?
Willow has been given to 65,095 babies in the U.S. since 1890, according to SSA data. Its archive ordinal is #507 of 72,339 among girls' names (total births, highest first). Among girls in 2025, it is #44 of 17,297. 5,195 babies were born in 2021, its single highest year.
Where does Willow sit in the SSA name archive?
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. All-time ordinal matches browse popularity (total births DESC); the current ordinal uses the 2025 SSA file. See /methodology#corpus-placement.
When was Willow most popular?
Willow was most popular in the 2020s decade with 28,868 total births. The single peak year was 2021.
Where is Willow most popular?
The top states for the name Willow are California (4,103 births), Texas (3,675 births), Ohio (3,218 births).
How long has the name Willow been used?
The SSA has tracked Willow since 1890 -- 136 years through the most recent 2025 data.
What names are similar to Willow?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Willie, Wilma, Willa, William, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.

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

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.

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.