Willia
A diminutive form of the Germanic name William meaning "resolute protection".
Name Census estimates that about 1,126 living Americans carry the first name Willia. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 85.8% of registrations being female. The average person named Willia today is around 71 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Willia births was 1928 (101 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Willia. 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 Willia is about 71 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Willias were born before 1965.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 304,400 Americans
Peak year
1928
101 babies that year
Average age
71
years old
1989 SSA rank
#6,209
Tracked since 1882
Gender
Gender distribution for Willia
Willia leans heavily female at 85.8% of total registrations, but 550 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Willia as a male name
- Ranked #6,209 in 1989
- 8 male births in 1989
- Peak: 1986 (20 births)
Willia as a female name
- Ranked #12,155 in 1981
- 5 female births in 1981
- Peak: 1928 (94 births)
Popularity
Willia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Willia from the 1880s through to the 1980s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 804 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
Willia 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 Willia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Willias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 15 states and territories. Alabama, Texas, South Carolina recorded the most babies named Willia, while Pennsylvania, Virginia, Missouri recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 95 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Willia
The name Willia is derived from the Old German word "wil," which means "will" or "desire." The name can be traced back to the 8th century and was initially popular in regions of present-day Germany and France.
The earliest known record of the name Willia appears in the Carolingian Chronicles, a historical record of the Frankish Empire during the reign of Charlemagne in the late 8th and early 9th centuries. It is mentioned as the name of a minor nobleman who served in Charlemagne's court.
In the 11th century, the name Willia gained prominence in England after the Norman Conquest in 1066. Several Norman nobles and knights who accompanied William the Conqueror bore the name or variations of it, such as Willian or Williame.
One of the earliest notable figures with the name Willia was Willia of Malmsbury, an English historian and monk who lived from around 1095 to 1143. He is best known for his influential work "Gesta Regum Anglorum" (Deeds of the English Kings), a chronicle of English history from the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons to his time.
During the Middle Ages, the name Willia was relatively common among the nobility and clergy in various parts of Europe. For instance, Willia of Auxerre was a 13th-century French philosopher and theologian who made significant contributions to the development of scholastic thought.
In the Renaissance period, Willia Shakespeare (1564-1616), the renowned English playwright and poet, is undoubtedly one of the most famous individuals to bear the name. His works, including plays like "Hamlet," "Macbeth," and "Romeo and Juliet," have had a profound impact on literature and drama worldwide.
Another notable figure with the name Willia was Willia Penn (1644-1718), the English Quaker leader and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania. He established Pennsylvania as a haven for religious freedom and played a crucial role in the early development of the American colonies.
During the Enlightenment era, Willia Wordsworth (1770-1850), the English Romantic poet, was a significant literary figure. His poems, such as "Tintern Abbey" and "Daffodils," celebrated the beauty of nature and the human experience, and he is considered one of the greatest poets in the English language.
People
Willia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Willia 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
Willia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Willia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,126 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Willia 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 304,400 US residents.
Is Willia a common name?
We classify Willia as "Rare". It ranks above 90.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,866 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Willia most popular?
The single biggest year for Willia was 1928, when 101 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Willia is about 71 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Willia a female name?
Yes, 85.8% of people registered as Willia 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.