Willella
A feminine name with unknown meaning and origin.
Name Census estimates that about 1 living Americans carry the first name Willella. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Willella today is around 141 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Willella births was 1927 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Willella. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Willella is about 141 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Willellas were born before 1895.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Willella. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
1
~ 1 in 342,754,338 Americans
Peak year
1927
8 babies that year
Average age
141
years old
1932 SSA rank
#5,080
Tracked since 1900
Popularity
Willella: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Willella from the 1900s through to the 1930s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 37 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Willella 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 Willella during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Willella
The name Willella is of English origin, with roots dating back to the Middle Ages. It is a feminine form of the name William, which itself is derived from the Germanic elements "wil" meaning "will" or "desire" and "helm" meaning "protection" or "helmet."
The earliest known record of the name Willella dates back to the 13th century, when it appeared in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire, a historical tax record. In these rolls, a woman named Willella de Merton was recorded as a landholder in the village of Merton.
During the Renaissance period, the name Willella gained some prominence. One notable bearer was Willella Charington, a 16th-century English courtier and lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth I. She was born in 1542 and served the Queen for many years, becoming a trusted confidante.
In the 17th century, Willella Burroughs, an English Puritan and pioneer settler in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, was among the early bearers of the name in the New World. She arrived in America in 1638 and settled in Salem, where she lived until her death in 1670.
Another historically significant Willella was Willella Adair, a Scottish noblewoman and diarist who lived in the late 18th century. Her diary, which covered the years 1758 to 1801, provided valuable insights into the lives of the Scottish gentry during that era.
In the realm of literature, Willella Deane was a 19th-century American poet and author. Born in 1822 in Massachusetts, she published several collections of poetry and wrote extensively on topics such as nature and domesticity.
While the name Willella has never been extremely common, it has endured throughout history, carried by notable individuals from various walks of life. Its unique sound and historical ties to the name William have contributed to its enduring appeal.
People
Willella + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Willella 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
Willella: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Willella?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Willella 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 342,754,338 US residents.
Is Willella a common name?
We classify Willella as "Very Rare". It ranks above 3.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 70 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Willella most popular?
The single biggest year for Willella was 1927, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Willella is about 141 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Willella in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Willella a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Willella 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.
Is Willella still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Willella in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Willella can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Willella?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.