2000
#2,130
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,622
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.79
Uncommon Last name
Willoughby
From a place name meaning "willow town" in Old English, referring to a settlement near a willow tree.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 17,799 Americans carry the last name Willoughby. That puts it at #2,289 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.19 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 19,257 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Willoughby surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Willoughby with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
18K
1 in 19,257
Census rank
#2,289
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
16K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 15,522 bearers of the surname Willoughby in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.19 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2289th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Willoughby, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.5%. The next largest groups are Black (11.7%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Willoughby
The surname Willoughby originates from England and dates back to the 11th century. It is derived from the Old English words "wilga," meaning willow, and "by," meaning a farm or settlement, thus referring to a farmstead near willow trees. The name is believed to have originated in Lincolnshire, where several villages bear the name Willoughby.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the surname Willoughby is in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is spelled "Wilugebi." This ancient record indicates that the name was well-established in England by the time of the Norman Conquest.
In the 12th century, Walter de Willoughby was a prominent Norman nobleman who held lands in Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. His descendants would become the Lords Willoughby, a titled family that played a significant role in English history for several centuries.
Sir Richard Willoughby (c. 1385-1411) was a celebrated English soldier who fought in the Battle of Agincourt during the Hundred Years' War. He was knighted by King Henry V for his bravery on the battlefield.
Peregrine Bertie, Lord Willoughby de Eresby (1555-1601), was a courtier and military commander who served under Queen Elizabeth I. He was renowned for his exploits in the Netherlands during the Eighty Years' War.
Francis Willughby (1635-1672) was a renowned English naturalist and one of the founders of the study of ornithology. His work "Ornithologiae Libri Tres" (Three Books on Birds) was a pioneering work in the field of bird study.
William Willoughby, 6th Baron Willoughby de Parham (1776-1865), was a British peer and Member of Parliament who was known for his support of the abolition of the slave trade and his philanthropic endeavors.
Throughout its history, the surname Willoughby has been associated with various place names in England, such as Willoughby on the Wolds, Willoughby Waterless, and Willoughby in the Marsh, reflecting the widespread distribution of the name across the country.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Willoughby
Among Census respondents with the surname Willoughby, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.5%. The next largest groups are Black (11.7%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Willoughby bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Willoughby surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.5% · 12,346
- Black or African American11.7% · 1,813
- Two or more races4.3% · 672
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 452
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 131
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 108
Timeline
Historical Census data for Willoughby
Willoughby appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#2,257
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,111
+489 bearers (+3.1%)
Per 100,000 5.46
Rank movement Down 127 places
2020
#2,289
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,522
-589 bearers (-3.7%)
Per 100,000 5.19
Rank movement Down 32 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,130 | 15,622 | 5.79 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,257 | 16,111 | 5.46 | +489 bearers (+3.1%) | Down 127 places |
| 2020 | #2,289 | 15,522 | 5.19 | -589 bearers (-3.7%) | Down 32 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Willoughby surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #2,257 | #2,289 | -1.4% |
| Count | 16,111 | 15,522 | -3.7% |
| Per 100K | 5.46 | 5.19 | -4.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Willoughby bearers went from 16,111 to 15,522 (-3.7% change). The surname moved down 32 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,257 to #2,289.
FAQ
Willoughby surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Willoughby?
Name Census estimates that about 17,799 living Americans carry the surname Willoughby. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 19,257 residents.
How common is Willoughby?
Willoughby ranks #2,289 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.19 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 15,522 people with the surname Willoughby. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (17,799), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.19 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.19 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Willoughby.
Has Willoughby become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Willoughby went from 16,111 recorded bearers to 15,522. That is a decrease of 589 (-3.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,257 to #2,289.
What does the Census say about the background of Willoughby?
Among Census respondents with the surname Willoughby, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.5%. The next largest groups are Black (11.7%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Willoughby in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.5% (12,346 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Willoughby appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.5%), Black (11.7%), Two or More Races (4.3%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Willoughby (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Willoughby mean?
From a place name meaning "willow town" in Old English, referring to a settlement near a willow tree. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Willoughby (5.19 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Willoughby?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.