Willie Nelson
There are approximately 301 people named Willie Nelson living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 1,138,719 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Willie with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Nelson. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
301
1 in 1,138,719
Named Willie
219K
Alive today
Named Nelson
471K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 219K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Unisex
Peak year: 1925
Average age: 66
Top Census group: Black or African American (79.9%)
Estimated bearers: 471K
Rarity: Common
Census rank: #44
Per 100K: 137.44
Top ancestry: White (75.0%)
First name trend
Willie: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Willie. The peak year was 1925 with 11,071 births. The average person named Willie today is 66 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Willie
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Willie, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is Black or African American at 79.9%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Willie described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the name Willie at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- Black or African American79.9% · 124,757
- White13.4% · 20,889
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 4,603
- Two or more races2.4% · 3,717
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1,292
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 892
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Nelson surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Nelson, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 75.0%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Nelson described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the surname Nelson at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White75.0% · 308,238
- Black or African American15.6% · 64,232
- Two or more races3.9% · 16,061
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 14,534
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 4,197
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 3,539
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Willie has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0640% of the US population, based on 219,365 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
Even though the Census Bureau now publishes first-name tables, we do not use that file as the main first-name input for this estimate. The latest first-name Census snapshot is from 2020, which makes it 6 years old today. Because Census first-name data is only released once every 10 years, SSA birth records plus CDC survival rates give a better current estimate of how many people are likely alive with the name Willie right now.
The surname Nelson appears at a rate of 137.44 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.1374%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 301 people with the full name Willie Nelson. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Willie
Related
Other people with the surname Nelson
FAQ
Willie Nelson: questions and answers
How many people are named Willie Nelson?
We estimate approximately 301 people in the United States share the full name Willie Nelson. That works out to about 1 in 1,138,719 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0640%) with the surname frequency (137.44 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Willie Nelson?
We classify Willie Nelson as "Very Rare". About 1 in 1,138,719 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Willie a male or female name?
Willie is predominantly unisex. Out of 596,221 total SSA registrations, 75.5% were male and 24.5% were female. See the full Willie profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2020 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.
How many people share the full name Willie Nelson?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.