Girl's name
Willow
Say it WIL-oh
English origin willow
2 syllables
Where Willow is loved, common and rare
Common across the UK, British Columbia, Ontario and six more places. Rare in Quebec, France, the Netherlands and five more places.
1 in 143 girls born in Scotland in 2025
England and Wales 20thScotland 27thBritish Columbia 40th
LovedCommonRare
Every place
In 19 of the 40 official lists, among them England and Wales (20th), Scotland (27th) and British Columbia (40th).
Show all 19 placesShow less
| Place | Rank | Girls | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Queensland state | 13th 2025 | 178 | rank only |
| South Australia state | 15th 2025 | 54 | rank only |
| England and Wales | 20th 2025 | 1,384 | 1 in 183 |
| New South Wales state | 23rd 2025 | 188 | rank only |
| New Zealand | 26th 2025 | 93 | rank only |
| Scotland | 27th 2025 | 125 | 1 in 143 |
| British Columbia province | 40th 2023 | 51 | about 1 in 234 |
| Victoria state | 45th 2025 | 135 | rank only |
| Ontario province | 53rd 2024 | 159 | about 1 in 343 |
| Ireland | 58th 2025 | 85 | 1 in 249 |
| Northern Ireland | 68th 2025 | 30 | 1 in 243 |
| Quebec province | 218th 2025 | 27 | about 1 in 963 |
| France | 564th 2025 | 75 | 1 in 3,824 |
| The Netherlands | 597th 2025 | 20 | about 1 in 3,051 |
| Switzerland | 788th 2025 | 7 | 1 in 4,856 |
| Austria | 858th 2025 | 4 | 1 in 8,930 |
| Berlin city | 937th 2023 | 2 | about 1 in 7,252 |
| Italy | 4773rd 2024 | 1 | 1 in 179,169 |
| Leipzig city | 344th 2025 | 1 | about 1 in 2,624 |
Rare, below the listed names: Munich, Cologne, Bonn, Rostock, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Catalonia, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia and Israel.
Not in a short top list, so no figure: Nova Scotia (top 21), Denmark (top 50), Finland (top 50), Iceland (top 10), Estonia (top 25), Moscow (top 61), Turkey (top 30), Argentina (top 20) and Croatia (top 50).
Germany publishes no national statistics on first names. German figures here are city lists (Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Bonn, Leipzig, Rostock), never the country.
Sources: Queensland Registry of BDM (Qld Open Data Portal) (Queensland); SA Attorney-General's Department, Births, Deaths and Marriages (data.sa.gov.au) (South Australia); Office for National Statistics (England and Wales); NSW Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages (Data.NSW) (New South Wales); Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), SmartStart (New Zealand); National Records of Scotland (Scotland); BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (British Columbia); Registry of BDM Victoria (DataVic) (Victoria); Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (Ontario); Central Statistics Office (CSO) (Ireland); NISRA (Northern Ireland); Retraite Québec (Banque de prénoms, Données Québec) (Quebec); INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (France); Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB) (the Netherlands); Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS) / Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS) (Switzerland); Statistik Austria (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1) (Austria); BerlinOnline GmbH; Landesamt für Bürger- und Ordnungsangelegenheiten (LABO) / Standesämter (Berlin); ISTAT, Contanomi (Italy); Stadt Leipzig, Standesamt (opendata.leipzig.de) (Leipzig). How we count, and every source
About the name
Taken directly from the willow tree, Willow is an English nature name with a clear, simple image behind it.
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It has two syllables, WIL-oh, and a soft, flowing sound, with the double l in the middle and an open ending. No common variants are listed, and it sits comfortably beside other plant names such as Ivy.
Willow is a firmly English-speaking choice: among the leading names in Queensland and South Australia and a top-20 name in England and Wales, but rare in France, the Netherlands and Switzerland. The Ontario and British Columbia records place its peak in 2021. Its trend is now mixed, rising in some places and easing in others.
Meaning, origin, pronunciation
- Pronounced
- WIL-oh, 2 syllables
- Meaning
willow
- Origin
- English
Over time
Over five years: rising in 4 of 16 regions, falling in 5.
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Rank in each place since 1996; higher on the chart is more popular.
Ten years of ranks
Her rank each year, English-speaking regions first. A blank means no published rank for her that year.
| Region | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 32 | 26 | 20 | 19 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 21 | 20 |
| Scotland | 62 | 45 | 34 | 24 | 28 | 26 | 25 | 23 | 29 | 27 |
| Northern Ireland | 74 | 41 | 31 | 28 | 32 | 24 | 32 | 45 | 44 | 68 |
| Ireland | 72 | 77 | 50 | 43 | 43 | 29 | 37 | 50 | 47 | 58 |
| Ontario | 80 | 74 | 72 | 63 | 57 | 43 | 46 | 55 | 53 | |
| British Columbia | 59 | 53 | 51 | 53 | 47 | 35 | 31 | 40 | ||
| Nova Scotia | 19 | 20 | ||||||||
| New South Wales | 31 | 21 | 13 | 13 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 19 | 25 | 23 |
| Victoria | 23 | 26 | 16 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 19 | 22 | 45 |
| Queensland | 16 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 13 |
| South Australia | 33 | 16 | 9 | 5 | 9 | 10 | 4 | 16 | 15 | 15 |
| New Zealand | 25 | 21 | 14 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 21 | 26 |
| Quebec | 425 | 485 | 322 | 593 | 526 | 230 | 291 | 180 | 228 | 218 |
| France | 921 | 1041 | 773 | 752 | 633 | 552 | 522 | 573 | 543 | 564 |
| The Netherlands | 833 | 648 | 785 | 597 | ||||||
| Switzerland | 1002 | 1749 | 1512 | 1298 | 1045 | 1077 | 751 | 1130 | 893 | 788 |
| Sweden | 727 | 835 | 900 |
England and Wales, 1996 to 2025
| Year | Rank | Girls | per 100,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 20 | 1,384 | 546.4 |
| 2024 | 21 | 1,481 | 574.1 |
| 2023 | 9 | 1,833 | 714.4 |
| 2022 | 11 | 1,867 | 708.5 |
| 2021 | 10 | 2,067 | 754.3 |
| 2020 | 12 | 1,982 | 738.4 |
| 2019 | 19 | 1,995 | 712.4 |
| 2018 | 20 | 1,900 | 659.1 |
| 2017 | 26 | 1,764 | 589.8 |
| 2016 | 32 | 1,536 | 500.1 |
| 2015 | 41 | 1,308 | 424.8 |
| 2014 | 51 | 1,142 | 372.4 |
| 2013 | 54 | 1,074 | 348.2 |
| 2012 | 69 | 892 | 277.0 |
| 2011 | 75 | 772 | 240.3 |
| 2010 | 112 | 511 | 159.2 |
| 2009 | 108 | 493 | 157.3 |
| 2008 | 146 | 369 | 116.9 |
| 2007 | 179 | 298 | 97.3 |
| 2006 | 222 | 218 | 72.9 |
| 2005 | 236 | 194 | 67.3 |
| 2004 | 208 | 222 | 77.7 |
| 2003 | 257 | 163 | 58.5 |
| 2002 | 238 | 169 | 63.2 |
| 2001 | 251 | 158 | 59.0 |
| 2000 | 427 | 73 | 26.7 |
| 1999 | 498 | 58 | 20.6 |
| 1998 | 597 | 43 | 14.9 |
| 1997 | 983 | 21 | 7.2 |
| 1996 | 891 | 24 | 8.1 |
Sources: Office for National Statistics (1996-2025), OGL v3.
Ontario and British Columbia since 1925
Half of the babies named Willow in Ontario and British Columbia since 1925 were born in or after 2017. First recorded in 1972. Her peak year there: 2021, at 395.3 per 100,000 girls.
Babies named Willow per 100,000 girls born in Ontario and British Columbia, by five-year period. Her 2021 peak is averaged into its five-year period, so the line sits below it.
Sources: Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (1917-2024), OGL-Ontario; BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (1924-2023), OGL-BC.
Sister names for Willow
1 in 138 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Willow.
1 in 124 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Willow.
1 in 127 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Willow.
1 in 141 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Willow.
1 in 109 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Willow.
1 in 92 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Willow.
1 in 166 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Willow.
1 in 142 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Willow.
1 in 459 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Willow.
1 in 82 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Willow.
Middle names for Willow
1 in 57 in Northern Ireland
Willow Grace
2-1 beats · initials WG
Changes the beat after Willow: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 71 in Scotland
Willow Olivia
2-4 beats · initials WO · Willow slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Willow: 2 syllables, then 4 syllables. Willow slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 99 in Scotland
Willow Sophia
2-3 beats · initials WS
Changes the beat after Willow: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 311 in Ireland
Willow Maria
2-3 beats · initials WM
Changes the beat after Willow: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 214 in Northern Ireland
Willow Rose
2-1 beats · initials WR
Changes the beat after Willow: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 78 in Northern Ireland
Willow Emily
2-3 beats · initials WE · Willow slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Willow: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables. Willow slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 491 in Ireland
Willow Julia
2-3 beats · initials WJ
Changes the beat after Willow: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 1,286 in England and Wales
Willow Miriam
2-3 beats · initials WM
Changes the beat after Willow: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
Same style as Willow
Names whose popularity rose and fell with hers across regions and decades.
1 in 138 in Scotland
98% alike: moves with Willow across countries and decades.
1 in 293 in Scotland
98% alike: moves with Willow across countries and decades.
1 in 140 in Northern Ireland
97% alike: moves with Willow across countries and decades.
1 in 71 in Scotland
97% alike: moves with Willow across countries and decades.
1 in 459 in Scotland
97% alike: moves with Willow across countries and decades.
1 in 127 in Scotland
97% alike: moves with Willow across countries and decades.
1 in 124 in Scotland
96% alike: moves with Willow across countries and decades.
1 in 166 in England and Wales
96% alike: moves with Willow across countries and decades.
Famous people named Willow
Willow Smith and Willow Shields.
Show all 2Show less
-
American singer-songwriter and actress (born 2000)
-
American actress born 2000
People: Wikidata (CC0), linked to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists.
Questions about Willow
5 questions, on how popular she is, what it means, how to say it, whether she is rising and sister names.
Show all 5 questionsShow less
How popular is Willow?
Her best rank is No. 13 in Queensland in 2025. She is in the published lists of 19 of our 40 regions.
What does Willow mean?
Wiktionary glosses Willow as "willow".
How do you pronounce Willow?
WIL-oh, with 2 syllables.
Is Willow getting more popular?
Over five years: rising in 4 of 16 regions, falling in 5.
Which sister names go with Willow?
The deck's top five sisters for Willow: Harper, Ivy, Evie, Aria and Ellie. Each is scored on style, era, popularity and origin, with sound clashes flagged.