Boys' name · since 1884

Willy

Willy has 3,937 recorded births since 1884 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1993 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.

#2,120 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#3,960 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
3,937
born since 1884
1990s
peak decade

Yes -- Willy is the #3960 most popular boys' name in the U.S. today, with 3,937 recorded since 1884.

Willy has 3,937 recorded births among boys since 1884, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #3960 as of the latest data, more common than 72% of boys, busiest in the 1990s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1884 to 2025.

  • #2,120 of 45,481 all-time among boys
  • #3,960 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
  • 3,937 born since 1884
  • 1990s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Willy ranks #2,120 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #3,960 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 3,937 born since 1884, peaking in the 1990s.

#2,120 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#3,960 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
3,937
born since 1884
1990s
peak decade
0%100%Median name50%71.5%
Willy vs. every other boys name in current SSA rankings
Upper archive tier
All-time archive position

Willy's 3,937 recorded births place it above 95.33% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.

11 jurisdictions
State-record footprint

11 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.

How Willy compares

3,937 Top 15% higher than 85% 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

Willy's all-time total is 11x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.

Metric Willy Median boys name (Takari) #1 boys name (Liam)
All-time total births 3,937 369 358,536
Peak-year births 69 34 22,252

Willy's usage pattern, beyond the headline number

Willy splits its recorded history at 1965: 63% of all births land in the more recent half, 37% in the earlier half, a lean toward present-day use rather than a passing spike. The single quietest year was 1884 (5 births) -- compare that against the 1993 peak of 69 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.

Willy popularity over time - boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1884–2025

Outside the top 1,000
Peak year (1993)
69
Annual births at peak, across 142 years of records
020406080 188419211937195319691985200120172025 27

Willy popularity over time - girls

116 total births recorded since 1913 (Willy as girls' name)

Unisex variant - 116 births
4681012 1913192019271940194419541973 6

Willy by decade

1990s is the heaviest window (535 births, 14% of the file).

1990s was Willy's strongest decade.

535 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 14% of all-time use.

Willy births by decade

Total births in each ten-year window

births

What this shows Peak: 1990s at 535 births (14% of all-time use).

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

How Willy 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 Willy's total volume

Willy vs 15 similarly-sized boys names Scatter plot of 16 data points. 0%5%10%15% 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 -37, 5.2%-116, 1.9%-59, 7.7%-114, 2.2%-24, 10.4%-142, 1.5%-146, 4.9%-112, 2.3%-49, 10.9%-146, 1.6%-144, 4.1%-146, 2.4%-111, 8.7%-66, 7.6%-43, 5.8%Willy-142, 1.8%Willy
Willy vs 15 similarly-sized boys names

Willy by state

Where Willy concentrates geographically, total births since 1884

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Willy
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 California
533 13.5%
#2 New York
322 8.2%
#3 Texas
187 4.7%
#4 Florida
85 2.2%
#5 Alabama
22 0.6%
#6 Illinois
11 0.3%
#7 New Jersey
11 0.3%
#8 Georgia
6 0.2%
California share of Willy's total US births 13.5%
Even split

533 of 3,937 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 11 reporting states.

Willy appears in 11 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Willy? ▼
3,937 babies have been named Willy since 1884. All-time, it sits at #2,120 of 45,481 boys' names by recorded births. In 2025, it ranks #3,960 of 13,930 among boys. The peak year was 1993 with 69 births.
Where does Willy sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Willy ranks #2,120 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #3,960 of 13,930 among boys' 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 Willy most popular? ▼
Willy was most popular in the 1990s decade with 535 total births. The single peak year was 1993.
Where is Willy most popular? ▼
The top states for the name Willy are California (533 births), New York (322 births), Texas (187 births).
How long has the name Willy been used? ▼
Records for Willy go back to 1884, giving 142 years of history through 2025.
What names are similar to Willy? ▼
Names with a similar sound or spelling include William, Willie, Willard, Wilbur, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

What to do with Willy's data

  • Willy's decade-level peak was the 1990s (535 total births); usage has since declined to 170 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
  • California records the most Willys (533 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 Willy

Nearby Names Like Willy

Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Willy

William Boy
#9 4,199,696 births
Willie Boy
#1315 450,188 births
Willard Boy
#2718 77,658 births
Wilbur Boy
#3950 56,906 births
Willis Boy
#2539 52,336 births

Compare Willy side by side: Willy vs William Willy vs Willie Willy vs Willard

Or pick any two names to compare →

Related Names

Names with a similar popularity rank to Willy

Joy #3959
2,630 births · Peak 1922
Arno #3961
1,723 births · Peak 1915
Abbott #3958
1,296 births · Peak 2016
Nevin #3962
6,372 births · Peak 2007
Russel #3957
16,610 births · Peak 1920
Alfonzo #3963
5,783 births · Peak 1970
Rich #3956
4,407 births · Peak 1962
Nathen #3964
6,146 births · Peak 2006

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Willy: 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, 1884–2025 (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 Willy 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.