How Many People Are Named Willard?
An estimated 23,030 people in the United States have the first name Willard. It is predominantly male (98.9%). The average bearer is 68 years old, and Willard peaked in popularity in 1915 with 2,924 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Willard as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Willard paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Willard is overwhelmingly male, 884 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- With an average bearer age of 68, Willard is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1968.
- Willard has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
23,030
About 1 in 14,883 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
98.9% confidence
Average Age
68
years old
Peak Year
1915
2,924 births
Total Registered
78,491
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Willard
Willard is predominantly male (98.9%), though 884 female births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Willard as a male name
Ranked #3,034 in 2024
41 male births in 2024
Peak: 1915 (2,889 births)
Willard as a female name
Ranked #8,684 in 1969
5 female births in 1969
Peak: 1918 (43 births)
Willard: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Willard span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 18,692 babies were registered. Willard has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Willard by Decade
How has Willard tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 939 | 939 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 1,252 | 1,240 | 12 | |
| 1900s | 1,899 | 1,821 | 78 | |
| 1910s | 15,640 | 15,364 | 276 | |
| 1920s | 18,692 | 18,440 | 252 | |
| 1930s | 12,603 | 12,459 | 144 | |
| 1940s | 10,668 | 10,602 | 66 | |
| 1950s | 7,061 | 7,033 | 28 | |
| 1960s | 4,317 | 4,289 | 28 | |
| 1970s | 2,262 | 2,262 | 0 | |
| 1980s | 1,206 | 1,206 | 0 | |
| 1990s | 748 | 748 | 0 | |
| 2000s | 567 | 567 | 0 | |
| 2010s | 440 | 440 | 0 | |
| 2020s | 197 | 197 | 0 | |
Willard by State
Birth registrations for Willard span all 49 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois. The lowest are in Hawaii, Wyoming, Rhode Island. On average, about 1,415 Willards were registered per state.
Willard + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Willard as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Willard
Other first names starting with W with a similar number of bearers.
Willard: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Willard?
We estimate approximately 23,030 people named Willard are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 14,883 Americans share this first name.
Is Willard a common name?
Willard is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 98.6% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 78,491 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Willard most popular?
Willard reached peak popularity in 1915, when 2,924 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Willard is approximately 68 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Willard a male name?
Willard is predominantly male. 98.9% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Willard Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Willard Smith, Willard Johnson, Willard Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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