Willison
Son of William, derived from the Norman French form of the Germanic name.
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Willison. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Willison today is around 43 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Willison births was 1980 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Willison. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Willison. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1980
5 babies that year
Average age
43
years old
1980 SSA rank
#7,273
Tracked since 1980
Popularity
Willison: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Willison 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 Willison during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Willison
The given name Willison is an English variant of the name William, which has its origins in the Germanic languages. The name William is derived from the Old German name "Willihelm," which is a compound of two elements: "wil" meaning "will" or "desire," and "helm" meaning "helmet" or "protection." The name Willison, therefore, carries the meaning of "resolute protector" or "strong-willed helmet."
This name has a long and rich history, with its earliest recorded use dating back to the 9th century. In the Middle Ages, the name William gained widespread popularity throughout Europe, particularly in England and France. One of the most famous bearers of this name was William the Conqueror, the Norman ruler who conquered England in 1066 and became the first Norman king of England.
Over the centuries, the name William has produced numerous variants and diminutive forms, including Willison. While the exact origin of this particular variant is unclear, it is believed to have emerged in England during the late Middle Ages or early modern period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Willison can be found in the records of the British East India Company, where a Willison Goins is mentioned as a sailor in the late 17th century. Another notable figure with this name was Willison Hunter, a Scottish minister and theologian who lived from 1715 to 1783 and authored several influential works on religion and morality.
In the 19th century, Willison Pitcher, an American politician and lawyer from New York, served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1833 to 1837. Around the same time, Willison Jones, a Welsh clergyman and academic, made significant contributions to the field of education as the principal of St. David's College, Lampeter, from 1837 to 1849.
More recently, Willison Moore, an American baseball player, played for the Philadelphia Athletics and the Boston Red Sox in the early 20th century, appearing in the 1914 and 1915 World Series.
While the name Willison may not be as common as its parent name William, it has persisted throughout history, carrying the essence of strength, determination, and protection associated with its Germanic roots.
People
Willison + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Willison 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
Willison: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Willison?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Willison 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Willison a common name?
We classify Willison as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Willison most popular?
The single biggest year for Willison was 1980, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Willison is about 43 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 Willison in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Willison a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Willison 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 Willison still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Willison 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 Willison 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 share the name Willison?
You can see how many Americans are named Willison on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.