Wilson
Masculine · “son of Will”
Wilson is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 48,807 boys against 210 girls since 1880.
Wilson began as a plain statement of fact — the son of Will — and it has been written on English and Scottish rolls for centuries. It crossed into first-name use through the American habit of promoting family surnames, and it has been present on the US charts without a break for as long as those records exist. Two easy syllables, a soft opening and a clean stop at the end.
How old is the name Wilson?
Wilson was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Wilson alive today was born around 1954, making them about 71 years old. About 27,500 people named Wilson are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Wilson most popular?
Wilson peaked in 1913, reaching #122 nationally. Today it ranks #672, 550 places below that high. See the whole 1913 chart.
Wilson appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From Wilhelm to Wilson
The story of Wilson
Wilson is a patronymic surname from medieval England and Scotland, formed the same way as Jackson, Harrison and Thompson: a father's familiar name plus 'son'. The father's name here was Will, the everyday form of William, which the Normans brought to Britain after 1066 and which quickly became one of the most-used men's names in the language — so common that Wilson turns up independently in many unrelated families. It became a given name in the United States, where surnames were freely borrowed as first names in the nineteenth century, and it was carried by an American president who led the country through the First World War. Wilson is also a well-established first name in Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador, and among Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking families in the US.
Meaning
son of Will
Will is the medieval short form of William, itself from Germanic elements meaning 'will, desire' and 'helmet, protection'. So Wilson sits one generation down from that older name.
How the name formed
- Wilhelm
- William
- Will
- Wilson
Related forms: Willson · Williamson · Wilkinson · Vilhjálmsson
Pronouncing Wilson
WIL-sun
Stress on the first syllable. It is said the same way in English wherever it is used; Portuguese and Spanish speakers may soften it to something closer to VEEL-son.
Nicknames for Wilson
High
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
- 19181,381 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #122reached in 1913
- Change vs 2022
- +4.7%405 in 2025, from 387
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.
Wilson in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Willson in English — spelling variant
- Williamson in English — related form
- Wilkinson in English — related form
- Vilhjálmsson in Icelandic — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Wilsons among us
people named Wilson are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 4,217 born in 2025 was named Wilson
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
Wilson 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 Wilson is headed
Wilson 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.
Wilson beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Wilson in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A spelling everyone in the English-speaking world already knows, from centuries of use as a surname — rarely needs to be repeated or corrected.
- Ready-made short forms in Will and Willie, both of which have stood alone as given names for generations.
- Works unchanged in English, Portuguese and Spanish, and is an established first name in Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador.
- A quiet way to honor a William, a grandfather's surname, or both at once.
- Continuously in use as an American given name for as long as national records have been kept, without a fashionable spike or collapse.
- It is still far more common as a surname than as a first name, so expect forms, rosters and teachers to occasionally read it as the family name — and to hear 'Mr. Wilson' as a joke now and then.
- Wilson is also a large sporting-goods brand, and the volleyball in the film Cast Away made the name familiar in that particular way to a whole generation of moviegoers.
- Most people carrying the name today are well into adult life, so it reads as a grown man's name before it reads as a boy's — which also means a child is unlikely to share it with a classmate.
- Willie, the traditional diminutive, may come along whether or not you want it; deciding early which short form you use helps.
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What they receive
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Wilson
Masculine · #672 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Wilsons are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 27,500 people named Wilson are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Wilson in 2025?
- Wilson ranks #672 among US boy names in 2025, with 405 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Wilson?
- About 1 in every 4,217 US boys born in 2025 was named Wilson — 405 in all.
- Will my child share the name Wilson with classmates?
- Wilson will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Wilson
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Benicio#672 · Vincenzo#674 · Houston#675 · Zaid#675 · Wylder#669 · Major#669 · Ahmad#669 · Madden#675
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Wilson? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Wilson and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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