Willis

Meaning: Son of Will
Origin: English surname

Boy's name · #2567 in the US (2025) · Vintage

Popularity over time

Willis is an heirloom: its strongest era came around 1880, when it ranked #86. It has thinned since but never left the records — about 52,000 boys since 1880, ranked #2567 today. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records.

Across the states

See where Willis is more common.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 1 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Around the world

See how Willis ranks in other countries and regions.

#4,275 in England & Wales (2025) · #2,052 in Canada (2022) · #7,062 in France (2022) · #8,598 in Ecuador (2022) · #707 in Scotland (2016).

Famous Willises

Willis Eugene Lamb — American physicist (1913–2008)
Willis Carrier — American inventor (1876–1950)
Willis Reed — American basketball player (1942–2023)
Willis Augustus Lee — United States Navy admiral (1888–1945)
Willis McGahee — American football player (born 1981)

As a surname

It is also an American family name — about 130,000 people carried it as a surname in the 2010 census.

Bruce Willis — American actor (born 1955)
Thomas Willis — English physician (1621–1675)
Rumer Willis — American actress (born 1988)

What Willises become

Among 312 notable people named Willis:

Lawyers & judges appear 1.9× more often than among typical names — e.g. Willis Van Devanter, US Supreme Court justice from 1911 to 1937 (1859–1941).

Similar names: Wiley · Marion · Will · Mercer · Whit · Harris

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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