How Many People Are Named Willoughby?
An estimated 157 people in the United States have the first name Willoughby. It is used for both genders, with 72.2% male. The average bearer is 21 years old, and Willoughby peaked in popularity in 2021 with 17 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Willoughby 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 Willoughby paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- Willoughby has undergone a significant gender shift. Originally given predominantly to boys, it is now more commonly a girls' name.
Estimated Living Americans
157
About 1 in 2,183,149 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Very Rare
Predicted Gender
Male
72.2% confidence
Average Age
21
years old
Peak Year
2021
17 births
Total Registered
309
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Willoughby
Willoughby is a genuinely unisex name, used for both males (72.2%) and females (27.8%). Out of 309 total births registered, 223 were male and 86 were female.
Willoughby as a male name
Ranked #14,119 in 2024
5 male births in 2024
Peak: 1923 (15 births)
Willoughby as a female name
Ranked #10,194 in 2024
10 female births in 2024
Peak: 2020 (10 births)
Willoughby: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Willoughby span from the 1910s to the 2020s, covering 8 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 82 babies were registered. While Willoughby is less common than at its peak in the 1920s, it remains a well-established name with steady registrations.
Willoughby by Decade
How has Willoughby 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.
Willoughby + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Willoughby as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Willoughby
Other first names starting with W with a similar number of bearers.
Willoughby: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Willoughby?
We estimate approximately 157 people named Willoughby 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 2,183,149 Americans share this first name.
Is Willoughby a common name?
Willoughby is classified as "Very Rare" and is more popular than 70.9% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 309 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Willoughby most popular?
Willoughby reached peak popularity in 2021, when 17 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Willoughby is approximately 21 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Willoughby a male name?
Willoughby is predominantly male. 72.2% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Willoughby Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Willoughby Smith, Willoughby Johnson, Willoughby 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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