Willette
Feminine diminutive of the French male name Will, meaning "resolute will".
Name Census estimates that about 1,207 living Americans carry the first name Willette. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Willette today is around 62 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Willette births was 1965 (62 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Willette. 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
1.2K
~ 1 in 283,972 Americans
Peak year
1965
62 babies that year
Average age
62
years old
2005 SSA rank
#19,074
Tracked since 1899
Popularity
Willette: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Willette from the 1890s through to the 2000s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 465 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Willette 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 Willette during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Willettes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 14 states and territories. North Carolina, New York, South Carolina recorded the most babies named Willette, while Texas, Ohio, Mississippi recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 27 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Willette
The given name Willette has its origins in the French language. 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 "helmet" or "protection." The name Willette emerged in the Middle Ages, around the 12th or 13th century, as a French variant of the more common William.
Willette was initially popular among the nobility and upper classes in France. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the writings of the 13th-century French poet and storyteller, Marie de France, who mentioned a character named Willette in one of her lais or narrative poems.
During the Renaissance period, from the 14th to the 17th century, Willette gained popularity across Europe, particularly in France and England. Among the notable historical figures bearing this name was Willette de Chalons (1397-1472), a French noblewoman and courtier who served as a lady-in-waiting to the Duchess of Burgundy.
In the 18th century, Willette Colbert (1718-1788) was a prominent French actress and playwright who performed at the Comédie-Française in Paris. Her works were widely acclaimed and contributed to the development of French theater during the Enlightenment era.
Another noteworthy figure was Willette de Belloguet (1801-1879), a French author and historian who wrote extensively on the history and culture of Brittany, her native region.
In the 19th century, Willette Gayarre (1844-1890) was a renowned French-American writer and historian, known for her work on the history of Louisiana and the French colonization of the Americas.
During the early 20th century, Willette Klitgaard (1905-1989) was a Danish-American artist and sculptor, known for her abstract and modernist works. She was a prominent figure in the New York art scene of the mid-20th century.
While the name Willette has maintained a presence throughout history, it has remained relatively uncommon compared to its masculine counterpart, William. Nonetheless, it has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including nobility, artists, writers, and historians, reflecting the rich cultural heritage and diversity associated with this French name.
People
Willette + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Willette 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
Willette: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Willette?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,207 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Willette 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 283,972 US residents.
Is Willette a common name?
We classify Willette as "Rare". It ranks above 91.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,123 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Willette most popular?
The single biggest year for Willette was 1965, when 62 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Willette is about 62 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Willette a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Willette 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.