Willis
English surname meaning son of Will, Will being the usual medieval short form of William, from Germanic words for will and helmet.
Willis in 2025
Willis was given to 52 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 5,533rd most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 63,757 babies born.
The history of Willis
Willis reached its highest point in 1924, when 1,276 babies were given the name, ranking 312th that year. Its best-ever ranking was 195th, in 1880.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 53,154 babies have been named Willis. Half of them were born before 1933, which places the name's centre of gravity with the Silent Generation.
Willis by decade
| Decade | Babies named Willis | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 1,393 | 195 |
| 1890s | 1,338 | 323 |
| 1900s | 1,495 | 384 |
| 1910s | 7,495 | 308 |
| 1920s | 11,944 | 308 |
| 1930s | 8,372 | 351 |
| 1940s | 6,261 | 445 |
| 1950s | 4,661 | 646 |
| 1960s | 3,080 | 857 |
| 1970s | 2,213 | 1,113 |
| 1980s | 1,928 | 1,286 |
| 1990s | 1,232 | 1,878 |
| 2000s | 752 | 2,874 |
| 2010s | 660 | 4,087 |
| 2020s | 330 | 4,792 |
Where Willis is heading
Willis has fallen 30% over the past decade, from 74 babies in 2015 to 52 in 2025.
That is less than 5% of its 1924 peak — Willis is now a rare name in the United States.
Names like Willis
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Willis.