Willoughby
- Gender
- Boy
- UK rank, 2025
- #2,202 for boys
- US rank, 2025
- #14,937 for girls
Willoughby is a boys' name, meaning “willow”. In 2025 it ranked 2,202nd for boys in the UK (11 babies) and 14,937th for girls in the US (5 babies).
What does Willoughby mean?
“willow”
A male given name transferred from the surname.
From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Is Willoughby a girl's or a boy's name?
Willoughby is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 11 boys in the UK and 5 girls in the US.
How popular is Willoughby in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #2,202among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 11about 1 in 27,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Fallingdown 27% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 11 boys in the UK were named Willoughby, making it the 2,202nd most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 2,819th. Its busiest year was 2008, with 22 boys.
Half of all the boys named Willoughby in the UK since 1996 were born between 2009 and 2019, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2024, 30% of the babies named Willoughby in the UK were girls.
Among boys in 2025, it was 2,130th in England and Wales.
Willoughby in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 11 | #2,202 |
| 2024 | 7 | #3,003 |
| 2023 | 9 | #2,468 |
| 2022 | 12 | #1,999 |
| 2021 | 6 | #3,179 |
| 2020 | 7 | #2,819 |
| 2019 | 18 | #1,479 |
| 2018 | 12 | #1,981 |
| 2017 | 17 | #1,563 |
| 2016 | 9 | #2,468 |
| 2015 | 14 | #1,779 |
| 2014 | 10 | #2,207 |
| 2013 | 11 | #2,033 |
| 2012 | 11 | #2,080 |
| 2011 | 13 | #1,788 |
| 2010 | 8 | #2,534 |
| 2009 | 18 | #1,391 |
| 2008 | 22 | #1,210 |
| 2007 | 4 | #3,748 |
| 2006 | 8 | #2,193 |
| 2005 | 3 | #3,992 |
| 2004 | 3 | #3,792 |
| 2003 | 7 | #2,054 |
| 2002 | 6 | #2,106 |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 0 | – |
| 1999 | 4 | #2,513 |
| 1998 | 3 | #3,021 |
| 1997 | 4 | #2,438 |
How popular is Willoughby in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #14,937among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 5about 1 in 320,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Too rare to calltoo few babies to tell
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 5 girls in the US were named Willoughby, making it the 14,937th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 9,541st. Its busiest year was 2020, with 10 girls. It first appears in the records in 2000.
2025 had fewer girls named Willoughby than any year since 2019.
Half of all the girls named Willoughby in the US since 1880 were born between 2016 and 2022, the years shaded on the chart below.
Willoughby in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 5 | #14,937 |
| 2024 | 10 | #9,551 |
| 2023 | 7 | #12,192 |
| 2022 | 6 | #13,586 |
| 2021 | 10 | #9,557 |
| 2020 | 10 | #9,541 |
| 2019 | 5 | #15,532 |
| 2018 | 5 | #15,677 |
| 2017 | 7 | #12,709 |
| 2016 | 8 | #11,776 |
| 2015 | 0 | – |
| 2014 | 7 | #13,063 |
| 2013 | 0 | – |
| 2012 | 0 | – |
| 2011 | 0 | – |
| 2010 | 6 | #14,953 |
| 2009 | 0 | – |
| 2008 | 0 | – |
| 2007 | 0 | – |
| 2006 | 0 | – |
| 2005 | 0 | – |
| 2004 | 0 | – |
| 2003 | 0 | – |
| 2002 | 0 | – |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 5 | #15,024 |
Names like Willoughby
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Henry Wilfred Harry Theodore Leo Archie Arthur Louie Stanley Ollie Teddy Reuben
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Willoughby: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/willoughby, updated 20 October 2026.