Willa
Willa was the 422nd most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 742 babies. Its best year was 1932, when it ranked 274th; the most babies were born in 2019 (889). Over the last ten years it has moved up 59 places. More babies were named Willa in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Meaning feminine of Will (William) · Germanic, English
Say it WIL-uh /ˈwɪlə/
- Rank in 2025
- #422 girls, down 72 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 742girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2019889 babies
- Total since 1880
- 32,848babies recorded
What does the name Willa mean?
Willa is a feminine of Will. Wiktionary says it came from Wilhelmina and was re-formed in 19th-century America from Will and William; the Random House dictionary also calls it a form of Wilhelmina. DMNES derives William from Germanic willo, "will, desire", and helm, "helmet, protection". The novelist Willa Cather is a famous bearer.
willo (Old High German, “will, desire”)helm (Old High German, “helmet, protection”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Wilhelmina, William, Willow, Billie.
See also: Germanic names, names that mean protector.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Willa', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Dictionary.com Unabridged (based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary), with Collins English Dictionary, s.v. 'Willa', Dictionary.com / Random House / HarperCollins
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources (ed. S. L. Uckelman), Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'William', DMNES, Durham University
- CMU Pronouncing Dictionary (cmudict), Carnegie Mellon University
Willa popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 24 since 1929.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #422 | 742 |
| 2020 | #350 | 887 |
| 2010 | #954 | 269 |
| 2000 | #2,671 | 56 |
| 1990 | #3,906 | 27 |
| 1980 | #3,502 | 24 |
| 1970 | #1,802 | 50 |
| 1960 | #853 | 149 |
| 1950 | #507 | 256 |
| 1940 | #329 | 375 |
| 1930 | #293 | 512 |
| 1920 | #317 | 424 |
| 1910 | #342 | 134 |
| 1900 | #369 | 84 |
| 1890 | #360 | 51 |
| 1880 | #517 | 12 |
How popular is Willa, counting every spelling?
Willa is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #431 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #422 for Willa on its own. Together these spellings went to 762 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Willa | 742 | #422 | 3,874 |
| Willah | 7 | #13,114 | 31 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Willa?
742 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Willa (0.21 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Willa born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 11 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Willa.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Willa?
About 18,000 people born in the US named Willa are alive today, with a median age of 12; half are between 6 and 67. That makes Willa a young name: most people with it are children. The wide spread shows a name popular in two different eras.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Willa by state
How common Willa was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Montana (5.1×), North Dakota (4.8×), Nebraska (4.5×), Iowa (3.4×), Minnesota (3.2×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Nevada, Florida, Texas.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Willa: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Willa, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Willa · Sibling names for Willa
Questions about the name Willa
What does Willa mean?
Willa means “feminine of Will (William)” (Germanic, English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Willa?
Willa was the 422nd most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 742 babies. Its best year was 1932, when it ranked 274th; the most babies were born in 2019 (889). Over the last ten years it has moved up 59 places. More babies were named Willa in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Is Willa a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Willa in the US.
Where is Willa most popular?
In 2021–2025, Willa was most common in Montana (2.44 per 1,000 girls), followed by North Dakota and Nebraska.