Find out how popular the first name Willene has been for the last 1 years (from 1975 to 1975) and learn more about the meaning and history.

Popularity of Willene by gender

Based on the last 1 years of data, Willene is exclusively a female name.

For the most recent data in 1975, there were 5 female babies and 0 male babies born with the name Willene.

The history of the first name Willene

The name Willene is derived from the Old English masculine name William, which ultimately comes from the Germanic elements "wil" meaning "will or desire" and "helm" meaning "protection." The name William was introduced into England by the Normans after their conquest in 1066 and quickly became one of the most popular names in medieval Britain.

The feminine form Willene emerged in the 19th century as a variant of the name Willine, which was itself a diminutive of William. While the name Willene is now relatively uncommon, it was more widely used in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly in the southern United States.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Willene can be found in the 1880 United States Census, where it appears as the given name of a young girl born in Mississippi. However, the name does not seem to have any significant historical or literary references prior to the 20th century.

One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Willene was Willene Hendrick (1892-1967), an American politician who served as the Treasurer of South Dakota from 1939 to 1947. Another notable Willene was Willene Gunn (1899-1983), an American vaudeville performer and actress who appeared in several films in the 1930s and 1940s.

In the realm of music, Willene Craddock (1898-1983) was an American country music singer and songwriter who recorded several albums in the 1960s and 1970s. Willene Langley (1917-2008) was a Canadian artist and painter known for her landscapes and portraits of Indigenous people in British Columbia.

Finally, Willene Graham (1917-1996) was an American librarian and author who wrote several books on library science and worked as the director of the Oklahoma City Public Library system for many years.

Data source

The first name data used on this page comes from the Social Security Administration (SSA). They've been collecting data on baby names since 1880.

The history and meaning of the name Willene was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Willene, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!