How Many People Are Named Willie Mays?

There are approximately 29 people named Willie Mays living in the United States today. That makes this name combination rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 11,819,115 Americans.

This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Willie with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Mays. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census background data where it is available.

Estimated People with This Name

1 in 11,819,115 Americans

Combination Rarity

Rare

Very Rare Very Common

First Name

Willie

Last Name

Mays

Willie: Popularity Over Time

Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Willie. The peak year was 1925 with 11,071 births. The average person named Willie today is 66 years old.

Male

Female

Ancestry of the First Name Willie

In the 2020 Census, the first name Willie was most commonly recorded among people who identified as Black (79.90%). The next largest recorded groups were White (13.38%) and Hispanic (2.95%).

These percentages describe the people who had the first name Willie in the 2020 Census. They do not tell you the deeper origin or meaning of the name itself.

Read this as a snapshot of who already had the name in 2020, not as a trend line. The SSA chart above is still the better way to see how Willie rose or fell over time.

White

13.38%

Black

79.90%

Hispanic

2.95%

Asian/Pacific Islander

0.83%

American Indian/Alaska Native

0.57%

Two or More Races

2.38%

Ancestry of the Mays Surname

The surname Mays was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White in the 2020 Census.

This is a self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people who had the surname Mays in the published Census surname tables. It gives useful context around who was recorded with the name, but it does not tell the full family history of every Boone line.

White

52.30%

Black

38.38%

Hispanic

3.14%

Asian/Pacific Islander

0.47%

American Indian/Alaska Native

0.59%

Two or More Races

5.12%

How we calculated this

The first name "Willie" has an estimated frequency of 0.0640% among living Americans, based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024 adjusted for mortality using CDC 2023 life tables.

The surname "Mays" appears at a rate of 13.07 per 100,000 people in the 2020 U.S. Census.

We do not use the Census first-name snapshot for the main estimate because it is only published once every 10 years. The latest public first-name Census file is from 2020, which is already 6 years old. SSA birth records plus CDC survival data give a better current estimate of how many people with the first name Willie are likely to be alive now.

Multiplying these frequencies against the U.S. population of ~343 million gives 29 estimated people. This assumes first names and last names are statistically independent. Full methodology.

Other people named Willie

Willie Smith Willie Johnson Willie Williams Willie Brown Willie Jones Willie Garcia Willie Davis Willie Nelson

Other people with the surname Mays

Michael Mays James Mays John Mays David Mays Robert Mays William Mays Jordan Mays Megan Mays

Willie Mays: Questions and Answers

How many people are named Willie Mays?

We estimate approximately 29 people named Willie Mays are alive in the United States today. The first name Willie is shared by 219,365 Americans, and the surname Mays is shared by 44,806.

How rare is the name Willie Mays?

This name combination is classified as Rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 11,819,115 Americans. The first name Willie is common and the surname Mays is uncommon.

Is Willie a male or female name?

Willie is predominantly male, with 75.5% of bearers being male and 24.5% female. It peaked in popularity in 1925 and the average bearer today is 66 years old.

What does the Census say about the first name Willie?

In the 2020 Census, the first name Willie was most commonly recorded among people who identified as Black (79.90%). The next largest recorded groups were White (13.38%) and Hispanic (2.95%). These percentages describe the people who had the name in the 2020 Census, not the deeper origin of the name itself.

Where does this data come from?

First name data comes from the Social Security Administration (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables. When available, first-name Census background data comes from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau first-name tables. Surname data comes from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau. Full methodology.

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