Willey
A diminutive form of William, derived from the Germanic elements meaning "resolute protection".
Name Census estimates that about 75 living Americans carry the first name Willey. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Willey today is around 73 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Willey births was 1924 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Willey. 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 Willey is about 73 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Willeys were born before 1963.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Willey. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
75
~ 1 in 4,570,058 Americans
Peak year
1924
14 babies that year
Average age
73
years old
1989 SSA rank
#9,189
Tracked since 1914
Census
Willey in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 213 people with the first name Willey, which placed it at #36,939 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#36,939
National first-name rank
People counted
213
213 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
43.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Willey
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Willey is White at 43.2%. The next largest groups are Black (36.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (9.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Willey described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Willey at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White43.2% · 92
- Black or African American36.6% · 78
- Asian and Pacific Islander9.9% · 21
- Hispanic or Latino6.6% · 14
- Two or more races2.8% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 2
Popularity
Willey: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Willey from the 1910s through to the 1980s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 82 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
Willey 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 Willey 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 Willey
The given name Willey has its origins in the Old English language, tracing back to the early medieval period in the British Isles. It is derived from the Old English word "wil," which means "will" or "desire," combined with the common suffix "-ey," indicating a diminutive form. The name can be interpreted to mean "little will" or "little desire."
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Willey dates back to the late 11th century in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears in various spellings, including "Willelm" and "Willelmus," reflecting the evolving nature of language and naming conventions during that era.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Willey. One of the most prominent figures was Willey Reveley (1784-1856), an English architect and surveyor who played a significant role in the development of London's urban landscape during the early 19th century. His notable works include the design of the Church of St. Peter in Eaton Square and the renovation of the Royal Mint.
Another notable Willey was Willey Branton (1920-1988), an American civil rights lawyer and advisor to President Lyndon B. Johnson. He played a crucial role in the drafting and implementation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, landmark legislations that aimed to end discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
In the realm of literature, Willey Tate (1841-1924) was an American poet and educator known for his contributions to the Southern literary renaissance. His work often explored themes of nature, spirituality, and the complexities of the post-Civil War South. Tate's poetry collections, such as "Poems" (1867) and "Shenandoah" (1892), earned him critical acclaim and a place among the notable poets of his time.
The name Willey also appears in religious texts and historical records. In the Old Testament, the Book of Ezra mentions a figure named Willey, a member of the tribe of Levi who returned to Jerusalem from Babylonian captivity. Additionally, the name is found in medieval European records, such as the Domesday Book of Wiltshire, where several landholders with the name Willey are documented.
Willey Caudwell (1572-1663) was an English clergyman and academic who served as the Master of Christ's College, Cambridge, during the 17th century. He played a significant role in the intellectual and religious discourse of his time, publishing several theological works and contributing to the governance of the university.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have borne the name Willey throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of human endeavor.
People
Willey + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Willey 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
Willey: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Willey?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 75 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Willey 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 4,570,058 US residents.
Is Willey a common name?
We classify Willey as "Very Rare". It ranks above 60.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 282 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Willey most popular?
The single biggest year for Willey was 1924, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Willey is about 73 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Willey in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 213 people with the name Willey, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #36,939 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Willey in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Willey?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Willey leans strongly male. 190 people counted with this name were male (86.0%), compared with 31 female bearers (14.0%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Willey?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Willey is White at 43.2%. The next largest groups are Black (36.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (9.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Willey most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Willey in the 2020 Census, accounting for 43.2% (92 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Willey in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Willey a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Willey in the SSA data are male. 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 Willey still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Willey 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 Willey 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.
How many people share the name Willey?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.