Willis Reed
There are approximately 16 people named Willis Reed living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 21,422,146 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Willis with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Reed. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
16
1 in 21,422,146
Named Willis
18K
Alive today
Named Reed
308K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 18K
Rarity: Uncommon
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1924
Average age: 62
Top Census group: White (66.9%)
Estimated bearers: 308K
Rarity: Common
Census rank: #75
Per 100K: 89.86
Top ancestry: White (68.5%)
First name trend
Willis: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Willis. The peak year was 1924 with 1,276 births. The average person named Willis today is 62 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Willis
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Willis, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 66.9%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Willis 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 Willis at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White66.9% · 11,614
- Black or African American24.6% · 4,273
- Two or more races2.7% · 463
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 420
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 372
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 227
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Reed surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Reed, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 68.5%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Reed 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 Reed at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White68.5% · 184,098
- Black or African American21.9% · 58,771
- Two or more races4.7% · 12,598
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 8,759
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 2,556
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 1,802
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Willis has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0053% of the US population, based on 18,317 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 Willis right now.
The surname Reed appears at a rate of 89.86 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0899%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 16 people with the full name Willis Reed. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Willis
Related
Other people with the surname Reed
FAQ
Willis Reed: questions and answers
How many people are named Willis Reed?
We estimate approximately 16 people in the United States share the full name Willis Reed. That works out to about 1 in 21,422,146 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0053%) with the surname frequency (89.86 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Willis Reed?
We classify Willis Reed as "Very Rare". About 1 in 21,422,146 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Willis a male or female name?
Willis is predominantly male. Out of 53,105 total SSA registrations, 98.5% were male and 1.5% were female. See the full Willis 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 have the full name Willis Reed?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Willis Reed at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.