girls' name ★ peaked 2021

Willow

Meaning A female given name from English of modern usage Gender Girl · 1% boys Rank 2025 #44 Trend ↑ Rising 13%

A female given name from English of modern usage.

Rank 2025
#44
among girls · ↓3 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
4,786
named Willow · +2% vs 2024
How common
1 in 337
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2021
5,231 babies
All-time total
65,560
#507 all-time among girls
First recorded
1890
in Social Security records

Willow popularity over time

65,560 babies have been named Willow since 1890, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
123418801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – – – –
1890s 5 – 5 1 – #1,530
1900s 40 – 40 4 +700% #1,482
1910s 111 – 111 11 +178% #1,570
1920s 252 6 258 26 +132% #1,356
1930s 208 – 208 21 -19% #1,519
1940s 175 – 175 18 -16% #1,804
1950s 138 – 138 14 -21% #2,470
1960s 139 – 139 14 +1% #2,913
1970s 502 5 507 51 +265% #1,510
1980s 344 – 344 34 -32% #1,831
1990s 1,217 43 1,260 126 +266% #730
2000s 6,024 52 6,076 608 +382% #312
2010s 27,072 164 27,236 2,724 +348% #45
2020s (to 2025) 28,868 195 29,063 4,844 +78% #37

Where Willow is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 4,871 3.03 #42
2027 4,965 3.09 #40
2028 5,046 3.14 #40
2029 5,116 3.18 #40
2030 5,177 3.22 #38

Where Willow is most popular

Girls named Willow per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 3.02 per 1,000. Strongest in West Virginia, Vermont, and Alaska.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Willow born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
West Virginia 337 12.9 +326%
Vermont 56 11.6 +283%
Alaska 86 9.99 +231%
Maine 151 9.76 +224%
Wyoming 40 9.38 +211%
South Dakota 131 9.18 +204%
Montana 123 9.09 +201%
Kentucky 747 8.73 +190%
North Dakota 114 8.67 +188%
New Hampshire 143 7.74 +157%
Arkansas 403 7.63 +153%
Idaho 236 7.05 +134%
Iowa 400 6.85 +127%
Missouri 805 6.68 +121%
Delaware 74 6.52 +116%
Nebraska 226 6.29 +108%
Tennessee 984 6.21 +106%
Indiana 859 6.12 +103%
Oklahoma 449 6.10 +102%
Wisconsin 573 5.56 +84%
Alabama 520 5.54 +84%
Kansas 316 5.48 +82%
Oregon 356 5.47 +81%
Ohio 1,253 5.28 +75%
Michigan 891 4.89 +62%
Mississippi 225 4.81 +59%
South Carolina 430 4.78 +59%
North Carolina 1,062 4.66 +55%
Utah 382 4.59 +52%
Pennsylvania 1,067 4.51 +50%
Virginia 743 4.36 +45%
Minnesota 465 4.31 +43%
Washington 602 4.17 +38%
Rhode Island 52 4.15 +38%
Louisiana 346 3.95 +31%
Hawaii 45 3.93 +30%
Georgia 877 3.86 +28%
Colorado 414 3.71 +23%
Nevada 158 3.40 +13%
New Mexico 82 3.37 +12%
Illinois 771 3.37 +12%
Arizona 447 3.19 +6%
Maryland 323 3.05 ≈ national
Florida 1,160 2.71 -10%
Massachusetts 317 2.62 -13%
Connecticut 149 2.56 -15%
New York 888 2.24 -26%
District of Columbia 24 2.02 -33%
Texas 1,542 1.92 -36%
New Jersey 319 1.77 -41%
California 1,292 1.54 -49%

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Willow

Willow is a top-50 name for girls in the United States, ranked #44 in 2025 with 4,763 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1890, 65,560 American babies have been named Willow. Its peak came in 2021, when 5,231 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Willow stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Willow?

The median living Willow is about 6 years old; half are between 3 and 11. An estimated 64 thousand people named Willow are alive in the United States today.

median 6 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Willow year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 4,763 #44 23 #4,530
2024 4,672 #41 30 #3,785
2023 4,765 #41 48 #2,734
2022 5,072 #37 39 #3,149
2021 5,195 #39 36 #3,291
2020 4,401 #48 19 #5,029
2019 4,609 #45 27 #3,996
2018 3,933 #60 27 #3,987
2017 3,569 #80 13 #6,653
2016 3,125 #96 17 #5,540
2015 2,811 #111 15 #5,976
2014 2,410 #136 15 #5,983
2013 2,079 #155 20 #4,793
2012 1,839 #171 15 #5,981
2011 1,575 #199 8 #9,559
2010 1,122 #288 7 #10,705
2009 1,054 #312 – –
2008 797 #405 – –
2007 771 #426 12 #7,060
2006 578 #525 5 #13,941
2005 542 #532 7 #10,105
2004 519 #549 8 #8,891
2003 537 #527 7 #9,544
2002 546 #505 7 #9,355
2001 379 #666 – –
2000 301 #761 6 #10,304
1995 90 #1,650 – –
1990 29 #3,711 – –
1985 37 #2,655 – –
1980 60 #1,831 – –
1975 53 #1,778 – –
1970 20 #3,309 – –
1965 11 #4,199 – –
1960 15 #3,356 – –
1955 21 #2,470 – –
1950 14 #2,905 – –
1945 21 #1,872 – –
1940 16 #2,106 – –
1935 14 #2,303 – –
1930 19 #1,932 – –
1925 27 #1,646 – –
1920 20 #2,013 – –
1915 23 #1,570 – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 5 #1,530 – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Willow

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Willow Smith Willow Smith American singer (born 2000) Contemporary
  2. 2 Willow Shields Willow Shields American actress b. 2000 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Willow, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Willow?

The median living Willow is about 6 years old. Half of all living Willows are between 3 and 11 years old.

How many people named Willow are alive today?

An estimated 64 thousand people named Willow are alive in the United States, based on 65,560 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Willow mean?

A female given name from English of modern usage.

How popular is the name Willow in 2025?

Willow ranked #44 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 4,763 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Willow?

65,560 babies have been named Willow in the United States since 1890, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Willow most popular?

Willow peaked in 2021, when 5,231 newborns received the name.

Is Willow a boy or girl name?

Willow is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 99% of babies with the name.

Is the name Willow rising or falling?

Willow is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Willow become more popular?

Willow is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 5,177 girls named Willow in 2030, which would rank around #38. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Willow?

Well-known people named Willow include Willow Smith (singer), Willow Shields (actor).

Names like Willow

Names that sound and feel close to Willow: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Willow with similar names → More names starting with W →