Willy
Willy was given to 27 boys in 2025, #4,040 among boys’ names; 4,053 Americans have been recorded with it since 1884 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 2,980 Americans named Willy and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (74% of everyone recorded); the median is 36 years old and half are between 21 and 56.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Willy by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Willy mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Willy is “a diminutive of the male given name William”
/ˈwɪli/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Willy?
#4,040 among boys’ names, 2025
Willy fell from #3,679 in 2015 to #4,040 in 2025 among boys’ names, although its share of boys born rose from 15.7 to 15.8 per million.
69 babies in 1993, the peak
Willy peaked in 1993, when 69 boys were given it, #1,401 among boys’ names. The 27 births of 2025 are 39% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 27 | #4,040 | 15.8 |
| 2024 | 24 | #4,420 | 13.9 |
| 2023 | 20 | #5,051 | 11.7 |
| 2022 | 31 | #3,684 | 17.8 |
| 2021 | 30 | #3,729 | 17.1 |
| 2020 | 38 | #3,069 | 22.0 |
| 2019 | 29 | #3,788 | 16.2 |
| 2018 | 39 | #3,049 | 21.5 |
| 2017 | 26 | #4,097 | 14.0 |
| 2016 | 26 | #4,088 | 13.7 |
Every recorded year (121)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 30 | #3,679 | 15.7 |
| 2014 | 35 | #3,227 | 18.2 |
| 2013 | 38 | #2,994 | 20.1 |
| 2012 | 44 | #2,767 | 23.2 |
| 2011 | 41 | #2,901 | 21.6 |
| 2010 | 44 | #2,783 | 22.9 |
| 2009 | 48 | #2,620 | 24.2 |
| 2008 | 60 | #2,235 | 29.4 |
| 2007 | 49 | #2,562 | 23.6 |
| 2006 | 47 | #2,574 | 22.9 |
| 2005 | 48 | #2,427 | 24.0 |
| 2004 | 48 | #2,370 | 24.2 |
| 2003 | 49 | #2,231 | 24.8 |
| 2002 | 46 | #2,288 | 23.7 |
| 2001 | 59 | #1,885 | 30.4 |
| 2000 | 49 | #2,080 | 24.9 |
| 1999 | 55 | #1,820 | 28.6 |
| 1998 | 41 | #2,230 | 21.5 |
| 1997 | 41 | #2,160 | 21.7 |
| 1996 | 47 | #1,928 | 24.8 |
| 1995 | 48 | #1,833 | 25.2 |
| 1994 | 64 | #1,489 | 33.1 |
| 1993 | 69 | #1,401 | 35.2 |
| 1992 | 49 | #1,743 | 24.5 |
| 1991 | 58 | #1,521 | 28.7 |
| 1990 | 63 | #1,414 | 30.7 |
| 1989 | 35 | #2,061 | 17.5 |
| 1988 | 37 | #1,842 | 19.3 |
| 1987 | 47 | #1,531 | 25.2 |
| 1986 | 38 | #1,692 | 20.6 |
| 1985 | 42 | #1,567 | 22.7 |
| 1984 | 37 | #1,627 | 20.5 |
| 1983 | 31 | #1,819 | 17.3 |
| 1982 | 39 | #1,592 | 21.5 |
| 1981 | 43 | #1,477 | 24.0 |
| 1980 | 34 | #1,724 | 19.1 |
| 1979 | 36 | #1,630 | 20.9 |
| 1978 | 56 | #1,202 | 34.1 |
| 1977 | 40 | #1,475 | 24.3 |
| 1976 | 36 | #1,538 | 22.9 |
| 1975 | 32 | #1,627 | 20.5 |
| 1974 | 40 | #1,369 | 25.4 |
| 1973 | 48 | #1,200 | 30.8 |
| 1972 | 29 | #1,647 | 17.9 |
| 1971 | 29 | #1,665 | 16.4 |
| 1970 | 33 | #1,491 | 17.8 |
| 1969 | 28 | #1,565 | 15.7 |
| 1968 | 40 | #1,216 | 23.0 |
| 1967 | 26 | #1,538 | 14.9 |
| 1966 | 32 | #1,371 | 17.9 |
| 1965 | 47 | #1,092 | 25.3 |
| 1964 | 40 | #1,234 | 20.1 |
| 1963 | 46 | #1,149 | 22.6 |
| 1962 | 57 | #1,022 | 27.6 |
| 1961 | 52 | #1,095 | 24.5 |
| 1960 | 52 | #1,081 | 24.4 |
| 1959 | 47 | #1,139 | 22.0 |
| 1958 | 43 | #1,183 | 20.3 |
| 1957 | 39 | #1,265 | 18.1 |
| 1956 | 29 | #1,478 | 13.7 |
| 1955 | 26 | #1,536 | 12.6 |
| 1954 | 30 | #1,406 | 14.7 |
| 1953 | 32 | #1,355 | 16.2 |
| 1952 | 20 | #1,747 | 10.3 |
| 1951 | 32 | #1,329 | 17.0 |
| 1950 | 28 | #1,391 | 15.6 |
| 1949 | 22 | #1,614 | 12.4 |
| 1948 | 39 | #1,158 | 22.2 |
| 1947 | 27 | #1,446 | 14.8 |
| 1946 | 22 | #1,555 | 13.5 |
| 1945 | 29 | #1,247 | 21.5 |
| 1944 | 31 | #1,210 | 22.7 |
| 1943 | 33 | #1,213 | 23.1 |
| 1942 | 24 | #1,465 | 17.4 |
| 1941 | 28 | #1,275 | 22.8 |
| 1940 | 27 | #1,310 | 23.3 |
| 1939 | 24 | #1,389 | 21.7 |
| 1938 | 22 | #1,475 | 19.8 |
| 1937 | 28 | #1,287 | 26.3 |
| 1936 | 25 | #1,355 | 24.1 |
| 1935 | 24 | #1,420 | 23.0 |
| 1934 | 24 | #1,422 | 23.2 |
| 1933 | 23 | #1,454 | 23.2 |
| 1932 | 19 | #1,712 | 18.2 |
| 1931 | 26 | #1,391 | 25.0 |
| 1930 | 28 | #1,398 | 25.5 |
| 1929 | 22 | #1,607 | 20.5 |
| 1928 | 23 | #1,608 | 20.8 |
| 1927 | 18 | #1,956 | 16.0 |
| 1926 | 21 | #1,716 | 18.9 |
| 1925 | 20 | #1,802 | 17.9 |
| 1924 | 20 | #1,838 | 17.7 |
| 1923 | 17 | #2,018 | 15.5 |
| 1922 | 17 | #2,037 | 15.6 |
| 1921 | 14 | #2,373 | 12.7 |
| 1920 | 24 | #1,590 | 22.5 |
| 1919 | 18 | #1,878 | 18.4 |
| 1918 | 13 | #2,392 | 12.8 |
| 1917 | 16 | #1,982 | 17.3 |
| 1916 | 11 | #2,537 | 12.4 |
| 1915 | 16 | #1,874 | 18.9 |
| 1914 | 12 | #1,973 | 18.3 |
| 1913 | 6 | #2,809 | 11.7 |
| 1912 | 10 | #1,740 | 23.3 |
| 1911 | 7 | #1,530 | 31.0 |
| 1910 | 6 | #1,585 | 30.9 |
| 1908 | 8 | #1,110 | 51.8 |
| 1906 | 8 | #1,000 | 60.1 |
| 1902 | 5 | #1,313 | 40.8 |
| 1896 | 7 | #979 | 58.5 |
| 1884 | 5 | #1,122 | 43.7 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Willy a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 4,053 Americans recorded as Willy, 3% are girls and 97% boys. In 2025 it went to 27 boys; SSA lists no girls with it that year (fewer than 5, or none).
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Willy: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Willy, and how old are they?
2,980 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 74% of the 4,053 Americans ever recorded as Willy. The median Willy alive today is 36 years old; half are between 21 and 56.
The 2020 Census counted 8,097 people named Willy (355 women and girls, 7,742 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 2,998 born in the U.S. The Census count is 2.7 times that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 110 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 488 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 523 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 711 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 756 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 390 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Willy born?
The states with the most babies named Willy are California, New York and Texas, with 87% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 533 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| New York | 322 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Texas | 187 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Florida | 85 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Alabama | 22 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| Illinois | 11 | not ranked | 0.1× |
| New Jersey | 11 | not ranked | 0.1× |
| Georgia | 6 | not ranked | 0.1× |
| Massachusetts | 5 | not ranked | 0.1× |
| Mississippi | 5 | not ranked | 0.1× |
Where Willy is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Willy is most over-represented in California: since 1910 it was given 1.3 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Willy with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 620,404 babies since 1880, Willy is the third most given (<1% of them). In 2025 it was given to 27 of their 377 babies (7.2%), again the third most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Willy
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Willy and names like it
- Compare Willy and WillieBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1990sWilly peaked in 1993.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Willy since 1910.
- The top names of 1993The year the most babies were named Willy.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Willy alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with WMost given first.