boy's name
Will
WIL
- Origin English
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 1
- Letters 4
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 52,166
Northern Ireland
#486
2024 births
Will means will-helmet, and the compound is stranger than it looks — the Germanic joins desire to a piece of armor, so the name reads as protection by determination. It was the commonest male name in England for six centuries after 1066.
- Will is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 1888, when 712 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 19,502 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Will over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 6,246 |
| 1890s | 5,243 |
| 1900s | 3,316 |
| 1910s | 3,320 |
| 1920s | 3,593 |
| 1930s | 2,506 |
| 1940s | 2,202 |
| 1950s | 2,026 |
| 1960s | 2,100 |
| 1970s | 2,237 |
| 1980s | 2,349 |
| 1990s | 2,927 |
| 2000s | 4,446 |
| 2010s | 2,978 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,121 |
What Will means
Will means desire joined to protection, carried from William. The second element is literally a helmet, so the compound sets resolve alongside physical defense, which is a stranger pairing than it first appears.
Where Will comes from
Will shortens William, from the Germanic Willahelm — wil, will or desire, joined to helm, a helmet and by extension protection. The Normans brought it to England in 1066 and it became the commonest male name in the country for six centuries, common enough that its pet forms bred surnames of their own in Wilson, Willis and Wilkins. Our records show its use as a standalone name is concentrated in England and Ireland rather than America.
Will in use
Will peaked in the United States in 1888, when 712 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 486th in Northern Ireland, 502nd in Ireland on 7 births, 1195th in the United States on 170, 1407th in France on 25 and 2884th in England and Wales on 8, across 52,166 lifetime births in six of the seven markets we track. England and Wales ran its own peak of 211 births in 2004.
How popular is Will?
In 2025, Will was given to 170 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Will is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Will
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Will in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- Dutch
- William
Sibling names for Will
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Will — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Will
What does the name Will mean?
Will-helmet — the Germanic wil, desire, joined to helm, a helmet.
How common was William?
The commonest male name in England for around six centuries after 1066.
Which surnames come from it?
Wilson, Willis and Wilkins all descend from its pet forms.
Where is Will used?
Five of our six markets, strongest in Northern Ireland and Ireland.
Is Will a girl's or a boy's name?
Will is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Will?
Will has 1 syllable.
Is Will a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Will currently ranks #486 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.