Willowdean
A feminine name combining the English words "willow" and "dean", likely referring to a willow-filled valley.
Name Census estimates that about 11 living Americans carry the first name Willowdean. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Willowdean today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Willowdean births was 1927 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Willowdean. 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 Willowdean. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
11
~ 1 in 31,159,485 Americans
Peak year
1927
18 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2019 SSA rank
#13,718
Tracked since 1925
Popularity
Willowdean: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Willowdean from the 1920s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 32 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1930s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Willowdean 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 Willowdean 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 Willowdean
The name Willowdean is a combination of two words – "willow" and "dean." The first part, willow, is derived from the Old English word "welig," meaning "willow tree." The second part, dean, comes from the Old English word "denu," meaning "valley." Therefore, the name Willowdean can be interpreted as "a valley of willow trees."
This name has its roots in the Anglo-Saxon culture of England, dating back to the 5th to 11th centuries. It was likely first used as a descriptive name for a person who lived near or in a willow-filled valley. The name's origins are deeply connected to the natural landscape and vegetation of the region.
Historically, there are no significant references to the name Willowdean in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or historical records. This is likely because it is a more modern combination of two existing words rather than a traditional name passed down through generations.
The earliest recorded example of the name Willowdean dates back to the late 19th century in the United States. One of the first known individuals with this first name was Willowdean Handley, born in 1892 in Kentucky.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Willowdean. One such person was Willowdean Denham (1909-1976), an American novelist and screenwriter known for her works set in the American West. Another was Willowdean Olivia Dickey (1925-2011), a prominent educator and civil rights activist from Kansas.
Willowdean Olive Chenault (1897-1973) was a notable American aviator and one of the first women to earn a commercial pilot's license in the United States. Willowdean Richey (1919-2006) was a influential figure in the field of nursing education, serving as the dean of the University of Kentucky College of Nursing.
Willowdean Courtney (1917-2011) was a respected artist and educator known for her vibrant landscape paintings of the American Southwest.
People
Willowdean + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Willowdean 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
Willowdean: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Willowdean?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Willowdean 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 31,159,485 US residents.
Is Willowdean a common name?
We classify Willowdean as "Very Rare". It ranks above 30.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 70 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Willowdean most popular?
The single biggest year for Willowdean was 1927, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Willowdean is about 38 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 Willowdean in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Willowdean a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Willowdean 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.
Is Willowdean still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Willowdean 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 Willowdean 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 common is the name Willowdean?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.