first name
WILLIS
of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census
Of the 17,367 people named Willis, 66.9% reported their origin as White, 24.6% as Black and 2.7% as two or more races. 98.6% are male. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.
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Willis peaked in 1924, when 1,276 babies got the name.
At least 53,154 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.
Willis by decade
Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1880s, when it ranked #259. The largest share of babies named Willis, 35%, were born between 1901 and 1927, the Greatest Generation's birth years.
Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.
Where Willis is most common
Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Willis has been most common in Arkansas (2.5×), Mississippi (2.4×), and West Virginia (2.4×), and least common in Arizona (0.09×).
43,456 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.
Either side of Willis
Spelled almost the same
2 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Willis, most common first.
Also a last name
As a last name, Willis ranks #242 of 156,621, with 125,122 people. See Willis as a last name
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