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Boy name

Willis

/ˈwɪlɪs/ · 98% boys · 52 born in 2025

Willis has been given to about 53,154 people in the United States since 1880. It was most common in 1924, which makes it a interwar name.

Meaning—
Origin—
Syllables2
Pronunciation/ˈwɪlɪs/
Nicknames—
Living in the US≈ 22,166
Median age today72 years

Popularity, 1880–2025

Babies named Willis per year · SSA, ONS, NRS, CSO, INSEE and SSB
18802025
United StatesEngland & WalesScotlandFranceeach scaled to its own peak
  • Peak year1924 · 1,276
  • Born in 202552
  • All time53,154
  • England & Wales, 20254

How popular is Willis?

Its best year was 1924, when 1,276 babies were given the name, ranking 136th. The typical living American called Willis is about 72 years old today.

Names that sound like Willis

Phonetic similarity, 0–1
  1. Willie0.71
  2. Williams0.68
  3. Ellis0.64
  4. Hollis0.64
  5. Willy0.65
  6. William0.61
  7. Wylie0.61
  8. Willian0.61

Middle names for Willis

Ranked by flow score
  1. Willis Paul0.77
  2. Willis John0.77
  3. Willis Lee0.77
  4. Willis Dean0.76
  5. Willis Blake0.76
  6. Willis Bryce0.76

Sibling names for Willis

Same era, comparable use, no clash
  1. Hughbrother · 0.96
  2. Archiebrother · 0.95
  3. Cleoeither · 0.95
  4. Lenorasister · 0.95
  5. Florasister · 0.95
  6. Maxinesister · 0.94

Where Willis is strongest

Share of 2025 births by state

    With a common surname

    Flow score against the most-used American surnames · try your own
    1. Willis Anderson0.77
    2. Willis Reyes0.72
    3. Willis Nguyen0.72
    4. Willis Moore0.72
    5. Willis Lee0.72
    6. Willis Hall0.72

    How to read these numbers

    Every score on this page is explained
    1. Phonetic similarity0–1
    2. Middle-name flow0–1
    3. Sibling fit0–1
    4. Living population estimatemethod
    5. PronunciationCMU dictionary

    Sources for Willis

    Every figure on this page is public record
    1. United States1880–2025
    2. England & Wales1996–2025
    3. Scotland1974–2020
    4. France1900–2025
    5. PronunciationCMU dictionary

    Source: US Social Security Administration, national and state name files, 2025 release, and the Office for National Statistics for England and Wales. Etymology researched and written by our editors. Living-population and median-age figures are our own estimates, described in the methodology.