Willa

Did you know?

A few things about Willa you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Willa

Willa Holland

American actress

Choose Willa and your child shares a first name with Willa Holland, an American actress. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Willa, like who?” Willa Holland's Wikipedia article is available in 40 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Willa Holland on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Heroes & Villains, CC BY-SA 2.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 2,166 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named Willa, 742 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Willa would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryWilla has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Willas, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearIts best year was 1932, when it reached #273.
• 📈Then vs nowWilla is 15× more common today than it was in 2000. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 32,468 baby girls; in 2025, about 1 in 2,166.
• 🍂TrendWilla has slipped 73 places over the last five years and now sits at #422. Good news if you want a familiar name that fewer kids will share.
• 📍Where it's lovedWilla is most popular in North Dakota, where it ranks #101, followed by Montana (#144) and Nebraska (#157). It makes the top 1,000 in almost every state.
• 💬MeaningWilla is an English form of William, which means “resolute protector”.

About the name Willa

Willa is a girl name meaning “resolute protector”. It has 5 letters and 2 syllables, starting with W and ending in “-lla”. US birth records list Willa for girls from 1880 to 2025, in 146 of those 146 years. Its best year was 1932, when it ranked #273 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #422, with 742 babies.