Willamina
A feminine diminutive of the Germanic name "Wilhelm" meaning "resolute protection".
Name Census estimates that about 460 living Americans carry the first name Willamina. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Willamina today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Willamina births was 2023 (54 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Willamina. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
460
~ 1 in 745,118 Americans
Peak year
2023
54 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,946
Tracked since 1916
Popularity
Willamina: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Willamina from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 229 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Willamina by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Willamina during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Willaminas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Willamina
The name Willamina has its origins in the Germanic languages, derived from the combination of the elements "wil" meaning "will" or "desire," and "helm" meaning "protection" or "helmet." This suggests that the name may have initially carried the meaning of "resolute protector" or "one with a strong will for protection."
Willamina is a feminine form of the male name William, which traces its roots back to the Old German name Willihelm. The earliest recorded instances of the name Willamina date back to the late Middle Ages, around the 13th and 14th centuries, when it gained popularity across various regions of Europe.
In the 16th century, the name Willamina found particular favor among the Dutch and German nobility. Notable historical figures bearing this name include Willamina of Denmark (1459-1505), a Danish princess who married King John of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, and Willamina of Prussia (1751-1820), a Prussian princess and the sister of King Frederick William III.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the name Willamina continued to be used across Europe, particularly in the Netherlands and Germany. One notable figure was Willamina Fleming (1633-1693), a Dutch golden age poet and playwright renowned for her tragedies and occasional poems.
In the 19th century, Willamina emerged as a popular name in the United States, likely influenced by the influx of Dutch and German immigrants. One prominent American bearer of the name was Willamina Herriman (1846-1929), a pioneer of the Women's Suffrage Movement and a member of the National Woman Suffrage Association.
Other notable individuals named Willamina include Willamina van Lier (1887-1975), a Dutch writer and journalist who was a significant figure in the Dutch literary scene, and Willamina Baker (1909-1976), an American actress and dancer who appeared in several Broadway productions and Hollywood films.
Despite its historical significance, the name Willamina has become less common in modern times, though it still maintains a presence in some regions, particularly in the Netherlands and parts of Europe where it has a long-standing tradition.
People
Willamina + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Willamina as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with W
Other first names starting with W with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Willamina: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Willamina?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 460 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Willamina going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 745,118 US residents.
Is Willamina a common name?
We classify Willamina as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 474 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Willamina most popular?
The single biggest year for Willamina was 2023, when 54 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Willamina is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Willamina a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Willamina in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.