Meaning & origin
What it means
Willey goes back to Old English welig, meaning “willow.”
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How it developed
From Old English welig (“willow”), built from English willow + -leigh (“lea”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1914. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Willey through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 282
- 282 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1924
- 14 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 1989. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 14 in 1924. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 221 as a first name in 2020; 12,241 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Similar names
If you love Willey, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Otley
“woodland clearing, glade”
>99% boys
Wiley
“of the willows” · “one who is crafty; from the meadow by the water”
88% boys · 12% girls
Arkley
“ark, wooden chest”
>99% boys
Wilby
“willow”
>99% boys
Wilton
“from the town on the river”
>99% boys
Welford
“well, spring, stream”
>99% boys
Walmer
“Welshman” · “lake, sea”
>99% boys
Wilfred
“one who wishes for peace”
>99% boys