Popularity of the name Willow, 1890–2025
Willow was at its most popular in 2021, when 5,195 girls were given the name: about 1 in 320 girls born in the U.S. that year, ranking #39. In 2025, 4,763 girls were named Willow, ranking #44. In all, Social Security counts 65,095 girls named Willow since 1890. Social Security’s records also list 465 boys named Willow.
- Peak year
- 2021
- Rank in 2021
- #39
- Babies in 2021
- 5,195
- Rank in 2025
- #44
- Total since 1890
- 65,095
Where it stands now
Over the last ten years it has climbed from #111 in 2015 to #44 in 2025, with 2,811 girls named Willow in 2015 and 4,763 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Willow ranked highest in the 2020s so far, at #41, with 28,868 girls given the name that decade. It started at #2,582 in the 1890s.
Every 20 years in the records: 20 in 1920 (#1,952), 16 in 1940 (#2,029), 15 in 1960 (#3,212), 60 in 1980 (#1,805), 301 in 2000 (#757) and 4,401 in 2020 (#48).
Highs and lows
The most girls given the name in a single year was 5,195, in 2021. Its best rank in any year was #37, first reached in 2022.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1890 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 girls named Willow, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1890 | 5 | #1,338 |
| 1902 | 5 | #1,793 |
| 1904 | 8 | #1,364 |
| 1906 | 8 | #1,416 |
| 1907 | 5 | #2,061 |
| 1908 | 9 | #1,439 |
| 1909 | 5 | #2,208 |
| 1912 | 6 | #2,634 |
| 1913 | 12 | #1,766 |
| 1914 | 11 | #2,125 |
| 1915 | 23 | #1,523 |
| 1916 | 20 | #1,739 |
| 1917 | 10 | #2,879 |
| 1918 | 15 | #2,289 |
| 1919 | 14 | #2,384 |
| 1920 | 20 | #1,952 |
| 1921 | 23 | #1,821 |
| 1922 | 15 | #2,387 |
| 1923 | 27 | #1,598 |
| 1924 | 26 | #1,679 |
| 1925 | 27 | #1,609 |
| 1926 | 35 | #1,325 |
| 1927 | 23 | #1,771 |
| 1928 | 30 | #1,425 |
| 1929 | 26 | #1,526 |
| 1930 | 19 | #1,875 |
| 1931 | 24 | #1,549 |
| 1932 | 26 | #1,488 |
| 1933 | 24 | #1,513 |
| 1934 | 23 | #1,556 |
| 1935 | 14 | #2,206 |
| 1936 | 24 | #1,507 |
| 1937 | 13 | #2,317 |
| 1938 | 22 | #1,650 |
| 1939 | 19 | #1,797 |
| 1940 | 16 | #2,029 |
| 1941 | 15 | #2,190 |
| 1942 | 12 | #2,666 |
| 1943 | 14 | #2,447 |
| 1944 | 23 | #1,742 |
| 1945 | 21 | #1,825 |
| 1946 | 20 | #2,094 |
| 1947 | 24 | #1,993 |
| 1948 | 18 | #2,329 |
| 1949 | 12 | #2,999 |
| 1950 | 14 | #2,781 |
| 1951 | 13 | #2,937 |
| 1952 | 10 | #3,552 |
| 1953 | 17 | #2,595 |
| 1954 | 12 | #3,325 |
| 1955 | 21 | #2,411 |
| 1956 | 16 | #2,929 |
| 1957 | 14 | #3,150 |
| 1958 | 8 | #4,520 |
| 1959 | 13 | #3,436 |
| 1960 | 15 | #3,212 |
| 1961 | 13 | #3,608 |
| 1962 | 12 | #3,782 |
| 1963 | 12 | #3,801 |
| 1964 | 20 | #2,825 |
| 1965 | 11 | #3,952 |
| 1966 | 14 | #3,400 |
| 1967 | 10 | #4,300 |
| 1968 | 15 | #3,456 |
| 1969 | 17 | #3,318 |
| 1970 | 20 | #3,208 |
| 1971 | 33 | #2,340 |
| 1972 | 32 | #2,311 |
| 1973 | 43 | #1,913 |
| 1974 | 54 | #1,688 |
| 1975 | 53 | #1,756 |
| 1976 | 66 | #1,535 |
| 1977 | 64 | #1,637 |
| 1978 | 75 | #1,502 |
| 1979 | 62 | #1,753 |
| 1980 | 60 | #1,805 |
| 1981 | 41 | #2,375 |
| 1982 | 40 | #2,414 |
| 1983 | 32 | #2,721 |
| 1984 | 30 | #2,915 |
| 1985 | 37 | #2,601 |
| 1986 | 22 | #3,757 |
| 1987 | 21 | #3,983 |
| 1988 | 26 | #3,585 |
| 1989 | 35 | #3,045 |
| 1990 | 29 | #3,623 |
| 1991 | 55 | #2,320 |
| 1992 | 54 | #2,386 |
| 1993 | 51 | #2,451 |
| 1994 | 84 | #1,744 |
| 1995 | 90 | #1,640 |
| 1996 | 125 | #1,348 |
| 1997 | 169 | #1,110 |
| 1998 | 250 | #852 |
| 1999 | 310 | #727 |
| 2000 | 301 | #757 |
| 2001 | 379 | #664 |
| 2002 | 546 | #504 |
| 2003 | 537 | #525 |
| 2004 | 519 | #548 |
| 2005 | 542 | #532 |
| 2006 | 578 | #523 |
| 2007 | 771 | #425 |
| 2008 | 797 | #405 |
| 2009 | 1,054 | #312 |
| 2010 | 1,122 | #288 |
| 2011 | 1,575 | #199 |
| 2012 | 1,839 | #171 |
| 2013 | 2,079 | #155 |
| 2014 | 2,410 | #136 |
| 2015 | 2,811 | #111 |
| 2016 | 3,125 | #96 |
| 2017 | 3,569 | #80 |
| 2018 | 3,933 | #60 |
| 2019 | 4,609 | #45 |
| 2020 | 4,401 | #48 |
| 2021 | 5,195 | #39 |
| 2022 | 5,072 | #37 |
| 2023 | 4,765 | #41 |
| 2024 | 4,672 | #41 |
| 2025 | 4,763 | #44 |
How these numbers are counted
Social Security publishes, for every year since 1880, how many babies of each sex were given each name, counting any name given to at least 5. A name’s rank is its place that year among names for the same sex, by number of babies. Names with the same count share a rank here, while Social Security’s own lists break ties alphabetically, so a rank can differ from theirs by a place or two. A name’s share is the number of babies given it divided by all babies of that sex in the data that year, and its peak is the year that share was highest. Shares rather than counts set the peak, because far more babies were born in some years than others: counting babies alone would pull nearly every name’s peak toward the 1946–1964 baby boom.
Source: the U.S. Social Security Administration’s national baby name data, from Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S. A name is left out of a year when fewer than 5 babies of one sex got it, and counts before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a card. See how Baby Boom builds its data. Figures may contain errors.