Given name & surname
Willson
“the son of William”
Willson is a variant of Wilson. One German interpretation is “the son of William.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Willson is a variant of Wilson. One German interpretation is “the son of William.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Willson is a variant of Wilson. An origin associated with Wilson is German.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In English usage, Willson as a surname has a patronymic derivation linked to William. In English usage, Willson as a surname has a “son of” formation linked to Will.
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
Willson through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 368
- 368 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2014
- 14 babies
- 2025
- 8
- #9,658 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −39%
- Cooling
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 8 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 9,658 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 460 as a first name in 2020; 8,978 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.
Willson’s family of names
In English usage, Willson as a surname has a patronymic derivation linked to William. Willson has a related form in Wilson. In English usage, Willson as a surname has a “son of” formation linked to Will.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Willson
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Willson, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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