girl's name
Willow
WIL-oh
- Origin English
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 100 (US)
- Births on record 102,423
the United States
#44
2025 births
Willow is a girl's name of English origin naming the tree, from the Old English welig. The willow's flexible branches gave English the word "wiley" in the sense of pliant, and the tree has long symbolized both resilience and grief.
- Willow is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 2021, when 5,231 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 693 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1890.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Willow over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1890s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1890s | 5 |
| 1900s | 40 |
| 1910s | 111 |
| 1920s | 258 |
| 1930s | 208 |
| 1940s | 175 |
| 1950s | 138 |
| 1960s | 139 |
| 1970s | 507 |
| 1980s | 344 |
| 1990s | 1,260 |
| 2000s | 6,076 |
| 2010s | 27,236 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 29,063 |
What Willow means
Willow means the willow tree, from the Old English welig. The tree's symbolism carries most of the name's weight: willows bend without breaking, which reads as resilience, while the weeping willow's drooping form made it a standard emblem of mourning.
Where Willow comes from
Willow comes from the Old English welig, the name of the tree, from a Germanic root also behind the Dutch wilg. The willow occupied a practical place in English life long before it was a name — its pliant withies were the standard material for baskets, fences, and coracles, and cricket bats are still made from a particular variety. Its symbolic associations run in two directions: the tree's ability to bend under pressure without snapping made it a figure of resilience, while the weeping willow became a conventional emblem of grief in European art and on Victorian gravestones. Willow entered use as a given name in the twentieth century, later than the Victorian botanical wave, and has risen sharply in recent decades.
Willow in use
The willow carries opposite symbolic meanings — resilience from its flexibility, mourning from the weeping variety's drooping shape.
How popular is Willow?
In 2025, Willow was given to 4,786 babies in the United States, ranking #44 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Where Willow 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 Willow
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Willow also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Willow over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Willow
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Willow 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.
- Other forms
- Forms we hold no single language for — some are used across several, some are simply spelled differently.
- Willo
Sibling names for Willow
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Willow — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Willow
What does the name Willow mean?
Willow names the willow tree, from the Old English welig.
What does the willow tree symbolize?
Resilience, from its ability to bend without breaking, and also mourning, from the weeping willow's drooping form.
Is Willow a modern name?
As a given name yes — Willow came into use in the twentieth century, later than most botanical names.
How popular is the name Willow?
In 2025, Willow was given to 4,786 babies in the United States, ranking #44 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Is Willow a girl's or a boy's name?
Willow is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Willow?
Willow has 2 syllables.
When was Willow most popular?
Willow peaked in 2021, when 5,231 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Willow?
Willow is usually shortened to Will.
Is Willow a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Willow currently ranks #20 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.