How Many People Are Named Willis?
An estimated 18,317 people in the United States have the first name Willis. It is predominantly male (98.5%). The average bearer is 62 years old, and Willis peaked in popularity in 1924 with 1,276 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Willis 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 Willis paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Willis is overwhelmingly male, 822 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- Willis 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
18,317
About 1 in 18,712 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
98.5% confidence
Average Age
62
years old
Peak Year
1924
1,276 births
Total Registered
53,105
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Willis
Willis is predominantly male (98.5%), though 822 female births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Willis as a male name
Ranked #2,701 in 2024
49 male births in 2024
Peak: 1924 (1,261 births)
Willis as a female name
Ranked #14,505 in 1989
5 female births in 1989
Peak: 1923 (32 births)
Willis: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Willis span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 11,944 babies were registered. Willis has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Willis by Decade
How has Willis 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 | 1,393 | 1,388 | 5 | |
| 1890s | 1,338 | 1,331 | 7 | |
| 1900s | 1,495 | 1,468 | 27 | |
| 1910s | 7,495 | 7,339 | 156 | |
| 1920s | 11,944 | 11,704 | 240 | |
| 1930s | 8,372 | 8,191 | 181 | |
| 1940s | 6,261 | 6,161 | 100 | |
| 1950s | 4,665 | 4,586 | 79 | |
| 1960s | 3,080 | 3,058 | 22 | |
| 1970s | 2,213 | 2,213 | 0 | |
| 1980s | 1,928 | 1,923 | 5 | |
| 1990s | 1,232 | 1,232 | 0 | |
| 2000s | 752 | 752 | 0 | |
| 2010s | 660 | 660 | 0 | |
| 2020s | 277 | 277 | 0 | |
Willis by State
Birth registrations for Willis span all 48 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Texas, North Carolina, Ohio. The lowest are in Alaska, Vermont, Wyoming. On average, about 905 Williss were registered per state.
Willis + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Willis as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Willis
Other first names starting with W with a similar number of bearers.
Willis: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Willis?
We estimate approximately 18,317 people named Willis 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 18,712 Americans share this first name.
Is Willis a common name?
Willis is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 98.4% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 53,105 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Willis most popular?
Willis reached peak popularity in 1924, when 1,276 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Willis is approximately 62 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Willis a male name?
Willis is predominantly male. 98.5% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Willis Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Willis Smith, Willis Johnson, Willis 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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