Willow Name Meaning

A peaceful name with a stylish side, Willow has taken the baby name scene by the roots. She’s ultra-modern in terms of popularity yet feels slightly vintage in a way.

As nature names continue to dot the charts, Willow is a standout pick in the trend. She’s not quite as popular as her sister Lily, yet recognizable enough to avoid spelling issues. She’s also part of the word name scene, home to trendsetters like Harper and Grace. In addition, Willow has the stylish -o ending sound seen in fashionable finds like Harlow, Marlow, and Margo.

Relatively free of nicknames, Willow is a great choice for parents looking for a standalone name. She may be modern in terms of popularity, but she has a mature feel that’s hard to miss. This doesn’t mean she can’t wear well on a little one, however. Lo or Loe could be used for a fashionable nickname should you choose, a moniker that feels similar to the sweetheart Coco.

Willow is a name with artsy vibes, a great name for parents who embrace creativity. She’s not one to walk on the well-worn path, unafraid of wandering outside the lines to follow her heart. Spirited, bold, and sassy as well, little Willow is packed with personality.

Infographic of Willow name meaning, which is Inspired by the willow tree, Willow is an English name.
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Willow Name Popularity

How popular is the name Willow? Here’s everything we know.

Year Rank # Births % Births
1910 0 0%
1911 0 0%
1912 0 0%
1913 0 0%
1914 0 0%
1915 0 0%
1916 1,563 5 0.0005%
1917 0 0%
1918 0 0%
1919 0 0%
1920 0 0%
1921 0 0%
1922 0 0%
1923 0 0%
1924 1,414 9 0.0008%
1925 1,642 5 0.0004%
1926 1,415 7 0.0006%
1927 1,541 6 0.0005%
1928 1,288 11 0.001%
1929 0 0%
1930 0 0%
1931 1,485 5 0.0005%
1932 1,415 6 0.0006%
1933 1,283 8 0.0009%
1934 0 0%
1935 0 0%
1936 1,475 5 0.0005%
1937 0 0%
1938 0 0%
1939 1,409 6 0.0006%
1940 0 0%
1941 0 0%
1942 0 0%
1943 0 0%
1944 0 0%
1945 1,744 5 0.0004%
1946 1,717 5 0.0003%
1947 0 0%
1948 0 0%
1949 0 0%
1950 0 0%
1951 0 0%
1952 0 0%
1953 2,000 5 0.0003%
1954 0 0%
1955 0 0%
1956 0 0%
1957 0 0%
1958 0 0%
1959 0 0%
1960 0 0%
1961 0 0%
1962 0 0%
1963 0 0%
1964 2,186 5 0.0003%
1965 0 0%
1966 0 0%
1967 0 0%
1968 0 0%
1969 0 0%
1970 0 0%
1971 1,915 12 0.0008%
1972 2,066 9 0.0007%
1973 1,928 12 0.0009%
1974 1,657 20 0.0015%
1975 2,141 9 0.0007%
1976 1,582 24 0.0019%
1977 1,847 17 0.0013%
1978 1,519 30 0.0022%
1979 1,935 17 0.0012%
1980 1,810 23 0.0016%
1981 2,218 13 0.0009%
1982 2,272 12 0.0008%
1983 2,780 6 0.0004%
1984 0 0%
1985 0 0%
1986 0 0%
1987 0 0%
1988 3,286 5 0.0003%
1989 3,270 6 0.0004%
1990 3,981 5 0.0003%
1991 2,584 14 0.0009%
1992 2,085 25 0.0016%
1993 2,362 18 0.0012%
1994 2,059 25 0.0016%
1995 1,852 33 0.0022%
1996 1,392 69 0.0046%
1997 1,157 107 0.0072%
1998 845 200 0.0134%
1999 713 268 0.0179%
2000 755 257 0.0168%
2001 664 334 0.0222%
2002 505 507 0.0338%
2003 522 503 0.0331%
2004 548 478 0.0314%
2005 526 501 0.0328%
2006 527 537 0.0343%
2007 410 750 0.0475%
2008 392 774 0.0501%
2009 307 1,030 0.0689%
2010 286 1,104 0.0766%
2011 197 1,559 0.1094%
2012 171 1,817 0.1275%
2013 153 2,069 0.1453%
2014 134 2,397 0.1645%
2015 111 2,789 0.1917%
2016 96 3,092 0.2145%
2017 81 3,519 0.2521%
2018 62 3,871 0.2818%
2019 46 4,566 0.3373%
2020 48 4,251 0.334%
2021 38 4,841 0.396%
2022 37 5,013 0.38%

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Data via SSA.gov.


Names Like Willow

If you like Willow, you’ll love these other names like Willow.


What names are diminutives of Willow?

A diminutive is a name that’s like Willow sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Willow, but shorter.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Willa

Will helmet, protection

German

Willie

Will helmet, protection

German

Willy

Will helmet, protection

German


What names sound like Willow?

If you like how Willow sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Willow.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Harlow

Rock hill

English

Harlowe
Marlow

Driftwood

English

Marlowe
Wilhelma

A variant form of Wilhelmina.

Wilhelmina

Will helmet, protection

German

Willda

Untamed; willow tree

German

Willona

A variant form of Wilone.

Wilma

Will helmet, protection

German


What names are similar to Willow?

Find a name that’s like Willow, but just a little bit different.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Aspen

Aspen tree

English

Daisy

Daisy flower

English

Isla

Island

Scottish

Juniper

Juniper tree

English

Opal

Gem, jewel

Indian (Sanskrit)

Penelope

Weaver

Greek

Poppy

“The milk of happiness,” from the Latin papaver, the name of a plant having thick, milky juice, on the basis of papa, thick milk.

Latin

Rose

Rose flower

English

Rowan

Of the rowan tree

Gaelic

Violet

Violet flower

English


Lists With Willow

Find inspiration in these baby girl name lists featuring the name Willow.


Siblings of Willow

Mamas with kids named Willow also have kids with these names.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Sage

Sage plant

English

Isla

Island

Scottish

Piper

Pipe player

English

Agnes

Pure, holy

Greek

Jewel

Plaything, delight

French

Adrien

From Hadria

Latin

Damien

To tame

French

Persephone

Bringer of destruction

Greek

Sebastien

Revered

Greek

Phoenix

Dark red

Greek

Leverett

Young Hare

French

Iris

Rainbow

Greek

Freya

Lady

Scandinavian

Rowan

Of the rowan tree

Gaelic

Wyatt

Brave in battle

English

Briar

Shrub, Small Tree

English

Rose

Rose flower

English

Sage

Healing herb

Latin

Ryder

Mounted warrior

English

Silas

Man of the forest

Latin

Justin

Just and fair

English

Ronan

Little seal

Irish

38 Comments

  1. Willow is the name of the man I truly loved but we can’t be together I’m just cherishing his name as only a dream my willow

  2. There was a little shop named Willow and I just fell in love with the name. She has two middle names Hazel Grace after my grandma and we just loved Grace. She is my chunky baby and the final piece to our family.

  3. During baby girls birth I felt like a willow tree

  4. I named my daughter Willow and she is about to be 26 years old. Although I loved the movie Willow, it never came to mind when thinking of names. She was absolutely the only Willow around when she was born but now it’s becoming popular. Some people tried to talk me out of naming her Willow while I was pregnant but her dad & I loved it. She’s our Willow.

  5. I have always loved willow trees, my grandmother had one in her garden and I have fond memories playing in her garden as a child. I also loved the movie Pocahontas growing up. We also wanted a unique name that wasn’t too out there. It’s easy to pronounce and spell, and hopefully can’t get teased for it as she grows up.

  6. We decided on Willow because we like the original name and when we saw her we just knew that was her name, we decided it before she was born but you never know until you see them ?

  7. She is constantly nursing, and doesn’t sleep good at night

  8. We picked out a middle name first. Both my husband and I have grandmas with the middle name Mae. We kinda just threw around names till we liked one that went well with the middle name. We had 5 years to sit on the name Willow Mae and fell in love with more and more as we waited for our sweet little love to join us! ?

  9. We wanted a very feminine name that was uncommon but wasn’t something that was clear we were trying hard to be different.

  10. Willow was the one name my husband and I both loved and agreed on. We wanted to go with something nature wise like my name (Stormy) and I absolutely love willow trees, it has a peaceful serenity to it. And I also love that willow trees bloom in the spring time and that’s when we had our daughter. It was just perfect.

  11. I love my child’s name I also have a son named Bear it made sense and she definitely looks like a willow

  12. I chose Willow because her fathers name is William and I wanted to name our first child after him. I love that it’s a nature-inspired name as well.

  13. My name is Tymber. And it matches the tree theme. It is also super pretty.

  14. It’s a beautiful earthy/nature name–we love it so much! Willow trees are “graceful and elegant” as well as strong and very resilient. Her nickname is Lowie ?

  15. My husband is the one who picked out the name Willow. He wanted something different and I liked it as well. It means “freedom” which is the reason I fell in love with it.

  16. It’s actually spelled Wyllow! We chose the name Wyllow because it’s not a common name and moms name is Whitney so we wanted to stick with W names for our girls. I love the name.

  17. I wanted a hippie name to be honest

  18. Willow is a beautiful name. I picked the name because it brings me happiness thinking about the willow tree itself.

  19. I just loved the name and think it’s a beautiful girl name.

    • My name is Willow

      • Is that you Willow?

      • When I grew up. I was the only Willow around. Now I can be shopping and hear look at this Willow. When I go look. The person who said it., Looks at me like Im crazy. I explain. I am Willow. And not used to hearing about other willows. I love that it’s gaining popularity!

  20. Choose Willow because me and her dad call each other WILLIS so we went with Willow lol

  21. I named her after my dad. His name is Willard.

  22. We chose Willow for several reasons. One is nostalgia. The movie ‘Willow’ holds a very special place in mine and my husband’s hearts. As well, we are both huge fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Buffy’s best friend Willow just happens to be our favorite character in the entire series. The final reason is because I have a biology degree and most of what I specialized in studying was forest ecology. Trees are my passion, so of course my daughter had to have a tree related name. All of these reasons made it a no brainer that we would name our little one Willow.

  23. I am a hippie chick and chose the name willow because of my love of trees. Especially willow trees. I love the willow tree lore. All the ancient stories about how how the willow is so strong and immortal because it can grow from a single branch falling onto the ground and can root and grow a new tree.

  24. Because she is strong and resilient. At 14 weeks gestation they gave her a 1% chance of survival. Then at 26 weeks my water broke and she hung in there for four weeks without any fluid before deciding to make her grand entrance.She is now two weeks old and thriving very much. She is one of the happier cases in the NICU department

  25. I named her after the character from Buffy.

  26. I wanted a name that was somewhat uncommon, but still easy to spell and pronounce. I also like timeless names, and I feel like Willow is soft and feminine, perfect for my little beauty queen! I also liked the fact it begins and ends in the same letter like my 3 year old son, Silas.

  27. Named after the strength of the Willow Tree.

  28. Willow trees are strong but flexible and can withstand even the strongest of storms. I want my daughter to be soft, but strong. Gentle, but able to handle whatever life throws at her with grace and dignity.

  29. My husbands name is William so we thought it would be close enough to name her after him but still be a girl name.

  30. We chose Willow b/c it’s different but not too different & also b/c it sounds pretty. Our daughter is petite and has a sweet temper so it fits so well for her. We also liked that it’s easy to pronounce, and spell. However, if you live in the south – be aware that some people with heavy southern accents will pronounce it Willa instead of Willow.

  31. After losing a son at 32 weeks pregnant in 2025 I began to search for feeling meaning in my life to heal those wounds. Willow. The tree of life that grows in the harshest conditions.
    The willow reminds us to let go and to surrender completely to our innermost selves. And, to gain a deeper understanding of our subconscious. Another powerful symbolic meaning of the willow tree is its adaptability. The willow tree’s ability to not only survive but also thrive in some of the most challenging conditions. We can also look at how the willow tree encourages the expression of deep emotions, including grief and sadness through tears and teaching us the value and consequences of love and loss. One of the greatest symbolic meanings of the willow tree is that even through great loss we have the ability to grow and there is potential for something new.

  32. We decided on Willow after my dad William and to honor my uncle William that passed away 50 years ago while serving in the Navy.

  33. I have loved the name Willow for many years. I think the first time I heard it was from the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
    It also went really well with our elder daughter’s name, Piper.

  34. My oldest daughter had a series of dreams. First that I was pregnant, then the gender, then the name. So it was a no-brainer!

  35. I saw the name Willow is a book I was reading long before I was pregnant and it stuck with me. My family has strong Irish ties and I wanted an Irish name for my daughter, but my husband wasn’t sold on many of my suggestions. When I thought about it I saw many Irish connections to the name Willow. It is a sacred tree to the celts and is though to guard the entrance to the Fey world. It is also important from a spiritual perspective because it helps people move beyond their grief and relieves pain. This brought me to the Willow Bark aspect and the connection with Aspirin and healing. I also love what willows stand for. How they are such strong graceful trees with incredible flexibility and I wanted those qualities for my daughter. We had a huge Willow growing in the village where I grew up and I have always loved it. Finally, my grandfather’s name was William and Willow felt like a nice homage without being too obvious. But ultimately we chose it because it was a name both my husband and I liked


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