Will
Masculine · “resolute protector”
Will is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 45,952 boys against 658 girls since 1880. See Will as a girl name
Will has been registered as a name in its own right for as long as American records have existed, not merely as a short form of the longer name behind it. It is also a legal term, and the phrase it appears in is doubled for a reason that goes back to two separate courts.
How old is the name Will?
Will was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Will alive today was born around 1936, making them about 89 years old. About 20,000 people named Will are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Will most popular?
Will peaked in 1882, reaching #25 nationally. Today it ranks #1193, 1,168 places below that high. See the whole 1882 chart.
Where it comes from
From Willahelm to Will
The story of Will
A last will and testament says the same thing twice because English law had two systems for inheritance. Land passed under the common law, in the king's courts, and the document disposing of it was a will. Personal property — money, goods, livestock — passed under canon law, in the church courts, and the document disposing of that was a testament, from the Latin. A person with both therefore needed both instruments, and lawyers drafted a single document that named itself as each, so that neither court could refuse it. The jurisdictional split ended long ago and the phrase outlived it, which is why the doubling now looks like lawyerly padding rather than what it actually is, a scar from a boundary dispute between church and crown.
Meaning
resolute protector
The formal name joins two Germanic elements, one meaning will or desire and one meaning a helmet or protection. It arrived in England with the Conquest and became the commonest man's name in the country within a century.
How the name formed
- Willahelm
- William
- Will
Pronouncing Will
WIL
One syllable. It is also an ordinary English word, both a noun and a verb, which readers hear before they hear the name.
Nicknames for Will
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 1886642 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #25reached in 1882
- Change vs 2022
- −4.5%170 in 2025, from 178
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Will in other languages
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Illinois.
Wills among us
people named Will are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 10,048 born in 2025 was named Will
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Will sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Will is headed
Will should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Will beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Will in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It is understood instantly by everybody and needs no introduction anywhere.
- One syllable is quick, clear and hard to mishear across a room.
- The formal name stands behind it for occasions that want one.
- It reads as a short form even when it is the registered name.
- It is an ordinary English word, so it turns up in sentences about the child.
- The record holds this spelling for daughters as well, though almost never.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Will to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Will? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Will
Masculine · #1193 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Wills are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 20,000 people named Will are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Will in 2025?
- Will ranks #1193 among US boy names in 2025, with 170 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Will?
- About 1 in every 10,048 US boys born in 2025 was named Will — 170 in all.
- Will my child share the name Will with classmates?
- Will will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Will
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Syncere#1193 · Jair#1193 · Cove#1191 · Amirion#1191 · Zavian#1196 · Ever#1196 · Javon#1196 · Khaza#1196
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Will? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Will and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle