Willoughby
Below 5 births
2025 SSA
About Willoughby
Energetic Willoughby is a familiar last name, but, as yet, makes for a unique choice in the first spot. An unexpected way to get to popular short forms Will and Billy, Willoughby could make an interesting alternative to William.
Willoughby for boys
Despite its similarities to the popular classic, Willoughby has a different meaning and origin to the Germanic William. Derived from Old English and Old Norse, it means "farm near the willows" or perhaps "willow town" if you interpret the second element of the name as meaning "settlement". Outdoorsy and nature-connected, Willoughby may appeal to those who like Barnaby and Zebedee.
Willoughby Patterne is the protagonist of the George Meredith novel, The Egotist, while Willoughby Sharp was a contemporary artist, curator, critic and founder of the seminal art magazine, Avalanche. There is a classic 1962 British children's novel titled The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken that was made into a film in 1989.
The name was also selected by British reality TV star, Lucy Watson, for her son born in 2023.
Willoughby for girls#17134 US
With Willow and Willa becoming more popular for girls, surname-style Willoughby could be a more unusual alternative. Meaning "farm near the willows" or "willow town", depending on how you interpret its second element, Willoughby could offer the same unisex appeal as Bellamy, Avery, and Emory.
In recent years, the name has been used rarely, but slightly more often for girls, with 48 receiving the name in the US in the first half of the 2020s. For boys, it was given 12 times for comparison, making it four times less popular..
Regardless of the current stats. the full form sounds appropriate for both genders, and offers a variety of nicknames including Willa, Willow, Bee, or Billie.
Pronounced WIL-uh-bee.
As of October 2026, Willoughby ranked #14119 in US births in 2024 SSA, peaked at #2221 in 1923.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | — | 0 | 0 |
Similar names
These 40 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Willoughby.
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Willoughby on lists
Famous Willoughbys
- Willoughby HickmanBoy
three British baronets
- Willoughby WilliamsBoy
American Revolutionary soldier and politician
- Willoughby WilliamsBoy
Jr., American banker and sheriff
- Willoughby SharpBoy
American artist
- (Charles) Willoughby Moke NorrieBoy
1st Baron Norrie, British soldier; Governor of South Australia, 8th Governor,General of New Zealand
- Willoughby Merrik Campbell BurrellBoy
5th Baron Gwydyr, British soldier
- Holly Marie WilloughbyGirl
British ITV presenter and model
Willoughby in pop culture
- WilloughbyBoy
character on TV's "Don't Trust the B,,,, in Apartment 23"
- John WilloughbyBoy
character in "Sense and Sensibility" by Jane Austen
- Sir Clement WilloughbyBoy
character in "Evelina" by Fanny Burney
- Sir Willoughby PatterneBoy
character in "The Egoist" by George Meredith
- "The Stop at WilloughbyBoy
" episode of TV series "The Twilight Zone"
Variations & nicknames
- WilloughbeyBoy
- WilloughbieBoy
- WillughbyBoy